curated by Francesca Referza

Wednesday 19^th May 2010 Velan will open Garage 42,  a new format curated by Francesca Referza, with Davide BERTOCCHI (Modena, 1969) and T-yong CHUNG (Tae-Gu, South Corea, 1978). In the event Garage 42 Velan proposes two artists whose works show some assonances and references underlined by the fact of  being shown side by side in the gallery space. The format intends to put in evidence the idea of a shared space, not only in physical but above all in a mental way. A contamination of languages encouraged in the planning phase by a strong dialogue among the two artists and the curator. The format will not require the creation of works together, unless the invited artists are willing to do it, but rather it tries to look for affinities, a minimum distance, the distance of sharing and dialogue between to ways of researching, still keeping each one his own point of view. The images which at best can describe this contact is the image of the epithelium transversal tissue, composed by cells able to glide one over the other. The relationship between the artists’ works is in fact imagined as a form of physical contact, a contact on surface, still dynamic, which from the dialogue gliding of a work beside the other produces results which couldn’t be foreseen in the beginning. For the first event Garage42 we invited the artists Daniel Bertocchi (Modena – 1969) and T-yong Chung (Tae-Gu – Southern Corea, 1977), they come from two different generations and cultures, still they share the fact that they are living in a foreign country. Davide Bertocchi since many years is living in Paris, while T-young Chung in Italy.
in Davide Bertocchi Spacecraft Attitude has the purpose to establish a wholly natural contact, persisting in the exhibition, between a certain technological vision with a strong utopian-scientific connotation while techno-playful one permeates the work by T-yong Chung. In both cases the results show marks of uselessness sustained by a certain aesthetic dignity which unites them. In fact with Spacecraft Attitude we mean the organization, or position in space of a spacecraft, in general described by two coordinates: latitude and longitude in reference to the orbits of a machine. The title plays with the ambiguity of the term ‘attitude’, which can also mean pose, behavior. The Exhibition then moves around the idea of a non functional aesthetic, rather than around the space coordinates and descriptors of star orbits positions, of that particular pseudo-scientific pose which we find in objects shown in many Seventies’ science fiction movies. In Davide Bertocchi’s vision this aesthetic assumes a political-melancholic connotation, with grotesque hints, while in the interpretation by T-yong Chung it takes the form of light semantic. Useless Revolutions, Le regime, Telly (CNN) and Tropicalnocturnalpastiche by Davide Bertocchi, Untitled (2005), Compass and Untitled (2010), environmental installation by T-yong Chung, show a pseudo scientific attitude, but show also formal assonances in the reoccurring geometric forms such as the sphere, the circle, the square. Like they were minimal elements in the building of a reality dominated by measure between past and proto-future in a line ideally uniting Piero della Francesca and Kubric.

Davide Bertocchi (Modena, Italy, 1969) recalls making his first ball-like sculptures out of asbestos from his father's workshop when only 5 years old. Those sculptures no longer exist but round tautological forms have become a recurrent element in his work. From 1988 through 1993, he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna under Alberto Garutti. Garutti's teaching had a major influence on the development of his future work. Recent solo and group exhibitions include: 2009 - Exhaust, Pandora's Sound Box, Performa 09 at WhiteBox, New York; Petaflops (solo show) at N.O. Gallery, Milan; "divide" Bertocchi, (solo show) at Base - Progetti Per l'Arte, Florence; No(t)Music at Fort du Bruissin (Focus -10th Lyon Biennale), Lyon; 2008 - Focus on Contemporary Italian Art at MAMbo, Bologna; 2007 - La Tentation de l'Espace at Espace Louis Vuitton, Paris; Promenade au Zoo, 9th Lyon Biennial of Contemporary Art, Lyon; Stardust ou la dernière frontière at MAC/VAL - Vitry-sur-Seine; 2006 - SintLukas Gallery, Brussels; 2005 - Radiodays, Exhibition On The Air at De Appel, Amsterdam; Top100 (solo show) at Palais de Tokyo, Paris; 2003 - solo show at Istituto Italiano di Cultura, Los Angeles; Prague Biennale 1, Prague; One Planet Under A Groove at The Bronx Museum of the Arts, New York and Walker Art Center, Minneapolis.

T-yong CHUNG (Tae-Gu, South Korea, 1978). Lives and works between Milan and Venice. Recent solo show include: T-yong Chung, OTTOZOO gallery, Milan (2011), I was.., MARS Milano artist run space, Milan (2010). We thank Region Piedmont for is contribution. The exhibition will remain open from 19^th may to 9^th July in the following opening hours: from Tuesday to Friday from 3.30 PM to 6.30 PM.