Così mi vedi?

Perfomance and exhibition curated by Rischa Paterlini

Private house at Via dei Mille 21, Milan, 20 February - 12 March 2023

When the works of two artists such as Iva Lulashi and Jacopo Benassi enter into dialogue, the walls of a space are transformed into a place of confrontation, animated by the desire to spread the essence of their poetics.

Inspired by the attunement of their art, they were called to take over Stefania Marinov's apartment to share a dinner dedicated to collectors. Curated by Rischa Paterlini, the event presents itself as a unique occasion in which, in addition to the works, one can experience a performance firsthand. In a domestic light, between the walls of an old living room, the bodies of Iva Lulashi and Jacopo Benassi's works meet, anticipating what will be an exhibition that can then be visited by appointment only. 

On the one hand, Jacopo Benassi, a photographer and artist who has developed a personal style, where depth of field is nullified and flash light becomes a signature, a self-imposed stylistic limitation in order to arrive to a raw, unmediated photograph. 

At the same time, in the air rises and resonates the question posed by Iva Lulashi whose works take their cues from films of different genres, especially vintage pornographic ones that reflect a reaction to censorship due to the visual language of an Albanian peculiar history. Although this was never consciously experienced by the artist, it is brought back in her works by incorporating eroticism, thus blurring the line between communist propaganda in films, sex scenes, and healthy everyday outdoor activities.

This is how do you see me? It now becomes the question that the bodies represented by the two artists intend to ask the guests. They converse in their naked presence with an eroticism that is not simply of gestures but of the atmosphere they create.