Lonnie Holley: Inserzioni
Castello di Rivoli, Turin, Italy
Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea presents the second edition of Inserzioni, the semiannual commissions programme that introduces new commissions in active dialogues with the baroque galleries used to display the permanent collection, transforming them into a continuously evolving exhibition device. The project engages with the museum’s narrative by inviting contemporary artists to interact with the unfinished architecture of the Castello and the historical and symbolic layering of its rooms, creating unprecedented relationships between artworks, space, and memory.
Curated by Francesco Manacorda, with a presentation by Huda Takriti curated by Linda Fossati, this new edition of Inserzioni involves Gabriel Chaile, Lonnie Holley, and Huda Takriti, whose practices explore themes related to memory, genealogy, and the construction of collective narratives across different geographical and cultural contexts. Designed for specific decorated rooms, the works are integrated into the path of the Collection, periodically renewing its display and broadening its cultural perspective. Through these commissions, the Museum continues to rethink the canons of art history, embracing traditions and visions that critically question Western narratives.
The project is rooted in the original vocation of Castello di Rivoli as a place where the artist’s intervention is welcome, with its architecture becoming a generative starting point. Artists are invited to actively participate in shaping the Museum’s exhibition history, continuously redefining the significance of its cultural heritage.
Lonnie Holley (Birmingham, Alabama, United States, 1950) presents a group of new sculptures and paintings conceived for the Sala dei Continenti (Room of the continents), decorated in the 18th century with allegorical representations reflecting Western-centered geopolitical vision of the time. Extending the Black Art tradition from the Southern United States, Holley transforms found and reclaimed materials – burnt wood, metal, plastic, and everyday objects – into assemblages that activate the narratives embedded in the materials themselves. Through an intuitive and improvisational process, Holley addresses themes such as collective memory, social inequalities, historical violence, and the potential for spiritual and political transformation. Within the context of the Castello, the works establish a critical tension with the room’s historical representations, offering new perspectives on power and memory. Sculptures and paintings on quilt evoke collective presences and symbolic genealogies that redefine the perception of the exhibition space.
