A project by Antonio Grulli
1995-2010 – 15th anniversary of the Raffaella Cortese Gallery

On the occasion of its fifteenth anniversary, Raffaella Cortese Gallery is pleased to announce In Full Bloom. The exhibition path is not about going back the way of the gallery, rather its aim is to the develop – in the capacity of a self-sufficient show – the main attitudes of this Milan-based display area, involving more than twenty Italian and foreign artists belonging to different generations. Joyce’s Ulysses, and in particular its fifth chapter, the Lotus-Eaters’ one, acted as the starting suggestion of this show.

Somebody bumming around the city, meeting people, seeing places and smelling their scents, in a word: living. In an even frivolous and superficial way, letting things crossing them, carrying no real burden. It’s just the way people react to the peculiar moment in life their going through; it’s the desire to create something positive to vitally face the forthcoming years. The Lotus-Eaters chapter, in particular, deals with concepts such as the temporary removal of the past and the both personal and collective burden of history. Furthermore, it’s the chapter devoted to the concept of “Skin” as both the sheath of our bodies and the wrapping surface of things and space.

In addiction, the feminine figures playing a crucial role in the novel rare in deep tune with one of the main prerogatives of the gallery itself, that is a special glance on both women artists and the artistic reflection on the very concept of gender.

The title has been chosen due to its cross-reference to flowers, symbols of spring and rebirth, as well as to the main character of the novel, Leopold Bloom, and one of the artists involved in the show, Barbara Bloom. The project also wishes to reflect on the very concept of space in the gallery, from a metaphysical and physical point of view. For this reason artists will play with the very concept of borders, thus involving the gallery itself – which is not usually seen as a display area – and two non-profit venues, Brown Project Space and Kaleidoscope, as well as Luigi Presicce’s studio.