Paola Anziché
Paola Anziché
The artist Paola Anziché (Milan, Lives in Turin and Milan) obtained a degree at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera and at the Städelschule, Staatliche Hochschule für Bildende Künste, Meisterschülerin, Frankfurt, Germany.
Her work has been exhibited in numerous Italian and international public and private institutions, including the Salvatore Ferragamo Museum in Florence (2019-20); Turner Contemporary in Margate, England (2017); the Remotti Foundation in Camogli (2012); the Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Foundation in Turin(2010); the Kichik QalArt in Yarat, Baku, Azerbaijan (2015); XX1T Triennale Esposizione Internazionale (2016), Mambo, Bologna (I) (2013) the GAM – Gallery of Modern Art of Turin (2013), and Careof, Milan (2009).
She has participated in numerous international residency programmes such as New Roots Foundation, Antigua, Guatemala (upcoming 2021); Temporars at Muzeum Susch, Susch, Switzerland (2019); Kiosko Galería in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia (2017), HIAP Residency Programme in Helsinki (2015); SYB Artist Residency in Beetsterzwaag, The Netherlands (2012); RES.O ‘international network for art residencies, Turin, Capacete, Artist Residency, Rio de Janeiro, San Paolo, Brasil (2012), Pact Zollverein Zentrum in Essen (2012) and the Centre international d’accueil et d’échanges des Récollets in Paris, Dena Foundation, (2008).
We have asked her about her relationship with Turin and what it means to work in the art field in Savoy city. We also asked to recommend what to visit and where to go for leisure.
Explore the city with Paola.
Turin was symbolically considered the elegant and regal “drawing room” of Italy, but this is now just a memory, even in the small historic centre of the city. As soon as you leave it, you discover a multi-ethnic city: if you head north from Porta Palazzo or to San Salvario, the city changes a lot and one can see a different aspect that nobody talks about. In Turin what I can witness is the presence of an ever-changing urban agglomeration, populated by various people and cultures that are helping to modify the apparent stillness and austerity of the old city.
Paola Anziché, Natural Fibers – Entangle treads and making Turner 2017 Contemporary. Courtesy of the artist
In my artistic practice, I start with the need to connect different disciplinary areas (like the attention to eco-sustainability, indigenous craft traditions, observation of the anthropological dimension of each activity).
I create soft and tactile sculptures. The activities I develop are a reinterpretation of material culture – including folk culture – which I put into relation with a plastic-sculptural practice in which gesture, attention to materials, and dialogue with the other interpenetrate and integrate.
My research stems from my travels to geographical contexts that are rich in textile traditions, where I come into contact with practices that I re-elaborate through a personal reinvention process.
The practice I develop implies a manual component and a focus on the materials (with a particular preference for natural ones) that are at the core of my work.
“Seeing with my hands” is the expression I use to define my research. Every project is born autonomously and becomes a unique sculpture, starting from different materials and weaving techniques.
Paola Anziché, Cat’s cradle, Performance 2021, Bauhaus Festival. Courtesy of the artist
Paola Anziché, Touching and changing Naranca, 2017 Kiosko, Santa Cruz de la Sierra
What I recommend seeing in the city is the Botanical Garden (which is part of Valentino park), the Fruit Museum, the Porta Palazzo market, the Limone foundries, and “Lavanderie a Vapore”, a theatre that has often given me the chance to attend surprising performances.
The Conservatory offers high-level programmes (completely free of charge) as an invitation to citizens to participate in the musical lives of the city.
The place I am most fond of remains the Fondazione Merz with its extraordinary spaces. Among the “off” spaces, I would like to mention Quartz Studio, an experimental contemporary art space.
After seeing an exhibition or a show, I’d suggest stopping by Caffè Ranzini to grab a bite: give their “acciughe al verde” a try (it’s anchovies served with herb sauce).
If you’re looking for a restaurant, I suggest the Residence Du Parc while VaSté is highly recommended for lunch: the chef always surprises his guests with crazy food creations. Or you could have some couscous in one of the many restaurants located near Piazza della Repubblica at Porta Palazzo.
