3×3 = tre CURATORI per tre ARTISTI is the title of the exhibition featuring Emanuele Dragone, Fabio Mariani, and Benyamin Zolfaghari, held at the headquarters of Associazione Culturale TRAleVOLTE in Rome. The exhibition project—curated by Michela Becchis, Maila Buglioni, and Ivan D’Alberto—is the result of a collaboration between the Roman space and YAG/garage, the contemporary art gallery based in Pescara.
The title immediately provides insight into how the exhibition was conceived, namely according to a “laboratory like” logic that allowed the three curators —each with very different backgrounds, professional experiences, and working methods—to select three artists belonging to equally diverse disciplinary fields and research paths.
The idea of an “exhibition experiment” is intended to have a “multiplier” effect, both critically and artistically. The exhibition arises from the chance encounter of three artists who, through their respective proposals, activate aesthetic, narrative, and conceptual dialogues capable of fostering visual experiences that were not defined at the initial planning stage.
The approach adopted by the three curators aims to “collect” theoretical and critical reflections that will emerge only after the exhibition has been installed. This modus operandi is further reinforced by the curators’ decision not to write about the work of artists they did not personally select, but instead to focus exclusively on their own. At the end of the exhibition, it will be interesting to reflect on the responses of visitors and for the three curators to assess how the multiplier effect has taken shape.
Emanuele Dragone (Atri, TE, 1991 – lives and works in Rome). Between 2005 and 2010, he participated as an artist in his first two important group exhibitions: Distanze and Dietro l’ordinario. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice, enrolling in the New Technologies for Art program. In 2016, he opened his first solo exhibition in Venice, on the island of San Servolo, titled Jaques. Come suddividere lo spazio senza utilizzare alcun comando. In the same year, he met Manuela Toto, counselor and writer, an encounter t hat profoundly influenced his creative path. In 2018 came their first direct collaboration in the multimedia exhibition Abitare il vuoto, followed in 2019 by the first edition of Monere sono solo mostri, during which the short film Levante was conceived and produced as a complement to the exhibition. Monere represents the first true emotionalcognitive experiment that Manuela Toto and Emanuele Dragone proposed to the public. Today, Emanuele Dragone works as a Motion Graphic Designer at the communication agency Wider View Srl in Rome.
Fabio Mariani (Rome, 1980 – lives and works between Rome and Abruzzo) studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome, where he graduated in Set Design. At the same time, he attended courses in restoration and printmaking, beginning to develop a pictorial research focused on investigating the potential and limits of matter. Through layers of oil colors, inert and synthetic materials, and natural inks, he translates perceived reality into an “inner universe” rich in landscapes and narratives. He has created stage sets for theatrical productions and participated in festivals such as Festivalteatro Napoli and the Andria Festival in 2008. He also works as a printmaker, using the etching technique to create the cover artwork for the book La scampagnata by Fernando Arrabal, published by Pellicanolibri. In recent years, he has expanded his research to include new expressive media such as photography, video, and sculpture. He has exhibited in museums and galleries in Italy and abroad, and some of his works are included in public and private collections.
Benyamin Zolfaghari (Tehran, 1986 – lives and works in Rome) studied at the Academies of Art in Tehran and Rome, earning degrees in sculpture and photography. He began painting as a self-taught artist in 2016, participating in events and group exhibitions including the art fair The Others (Turin, 2022), as well as group exhibitions in 2021 at the Rome campus of Temple University, at Spazio Mensa in Rome, and his solo exhibition at Curva Pura Gallery (Rome).
The exhibition will be open from December 2 to December 23, 2022, and from January 9 to January 13, 2023.
Free admission
Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM
On the occasion of the exhibition vernissage, Casale del Giglio, a winery founded in 1967 by Dino Santarelli, will offer a tasting of its wines.
Piazza di Porta San Giovanni, 10 - 00185 Roma
Associazione Culturale TRAleVOLTE
YAG GARAGE
