IT

In the historic center of Padua opens the new 21Gallery with an exhibition that, until 30 August2025, celebrates the art of free thought through a century of avant-garde and provocations. Among the artists are Francesco Clemente, Damien Hirst, Takashi Murakami.

At a time when critical thinking is often sidelined and conformity disguised as the norm, freedom of expression takes on an increasingly urgent value. Art is no longerjust form or representation, it becomes possibility. A fertile ground for uncomfortable visions and eccentric voices. It is on this line that moves AUDACI. Dalle avanguardie storiche agli artisti mascherati, l’arte del libero pensiero, the inaugural exhibition of 21Gallery’s new headquarters in Padua. The exhibition celebrates not only the power of free thought, but the city itself, which has always welcomed and cultivated intellectual freedom, transforming it into knowledge, art and innovation. “Padua is a city that has never feared free thought. Its spirit has always been that of those who dare, those who challenge the above,thosewho look beyond”, writes Elena Comin, director of the gallery, in the introductory text of the catalogue, evoking the figure of Galileo Galilei and the innovative painting of Giotto.

THE 21GALLERY IN PADUA

The momentum towards cultural autonomy and avant-garde that characterizes the history of Padua is now given a new form in the AUDACIexhibition and the mission of 21Gallery.With the opening of the Paduaheadquarters, the vision of the gallery, born in 2021 in Treviso thanks to the support of Alessandro Benetton, who has chosen to invest in the ideas of the young entrepreneur Davide Vanin, is strengthened and expanded. The project was born with the aim of promoting culture,with a particular focus on visual arts, generatinga positive impact on the territory, promotingthe dialogue between art and business and makingthe art system more accessible, involvingnew collectors and offering concrete support to the artists represented.The exhibition, curated by Cesare Biasini Selvaggi, traces an itinerary that goes from the historical avant-garde to the most radical protagonists of the contemporary scene.An exploration of independent thought, subversive creativity, art as a force for resistance: visions that have challenged the dogmas of their time and often paid the price with isolation, censorship, discredit.

THE AUDACI EXHIBITION AT THE 21GALLERY

Among the thirty or so works on display, we find names who have written decisive pages in the history of modern and contemporary art: from the futuristic dynamism of Balla to the abstract and vibrant painting of Accardi. But it is in the works of Cindy Sherman and Catherine Opie that one of the most intense turning points becomes evident: identity, the representation of the body as a battlefield. The final part of the exhibition looks at the present with a lucid and criticaleye. Among the invited artists, Gonzalo Borondo and Laika address current issues with direct and provocative language. The mask, in the case of Laika, is a tool for redefining creative freedom.An approach that brings to mind the practices of artists such as Manu Invisible and Andrea Villa,mentionedhere but not in the exhibition, who use art as a form of activism. An exhibition such as AUDACIinvites the spectator to observe an art that renounces complacency in order to become necessity. Because the most vital art arises from indocile thinking, by those who do not stop questioning the world.

Valeria Eneide

https://21gallery.it/

https://www.instagram.com/21_gallery_/

Translated with AI