I imagine that the experience of living together has led over the years to the birth of collaborations between artists who would most likely never have crossed their creative paths.
Exactly, the idea was to act as facilitators of interactions between different personalities coming from geographical areas and contexts as different as possible, and who usually do not know each other before arriving in Shanghai. Whenever collaborations arise between our resident artists, I can assure you, it is a goosebumps moment: you find yourself in front of art that, without our residency, would never have come to light. Every time it’s a little miracle.
Can you give us an example?
About ten years ago, we hosted Iker Arrue, a Basque dancer who used to undertake long solo explorations of the ancient ruins of Shanghai in order to collect material for his performances. One day, he brought along another hotel resident, the Swiss photographer and videomaker Eva Borner, who, fascinated by his practice, began to regularly document his explorations. Later, another resident, this time the musician Christian Berg, offered to compose accompanying music for the dancer’s choreography. Everything was then taken on display at the Fiac of Paris. In fact, Swatch is committed to bringing resident artists beyond the borders of Shanghai, presenting their works at important international events, such as the Venice Biennale or the Locarno Festival, which further pushes us to be particularly selective in choosing artists.
This year, for the 2024 Venice Biennale, Swatch will bring the works of six former resident artists to the Arsenale. Let’s start with the duo Leo Chiachio & Daniel Giannone, a dynamic artistic collective known by the name of Chiachio & Giannone, specializing in applied arts, especially embroidery and textile mosaics, and often engaged in social practices. They presented in Venice Comechifonnes #1 And Comechifonnes #4. a hypnotic installation, which mixes fabrics, embroidery, patchwork.
Leo and Daniel They are a couple, in life and in work; two middle-aged gentlemen, a sort of South American Gilbert and George. Their specialty is embroidery, a technique that they learned from their grandmothers and aunts and which they elevate to an art form, making it the vehicle of often provocative messages. They create real tapestries, through which they explore the theme of the “strange” and the “different”, which makes them ideal guests of this Biennial of Foreigners. They are also artist-activists, very present on the rights front for the LGBTQI+ community. Curiously, they often portray themselves together with their inseparable dachshund, who accompanies them everywhere. In their practice I really like the contrast between the reassuring shape of the medium, that embroidery that makes you think of patience and tenderness of a loving grandmother, and the strength and provocative character of their message: a duality that resonates well with Swatch, which traditionally offers substantial content with light forms imbued with joie de vivre.
Tags: Venice Biennale Swatch presents works artists
