exhibition GIOVANNI GIARETTA - IT TAKES A WHILE TO LEARN TO TALK THE LONG LANGUAGE OF THE ROCKS

GIOVANNI GIARETTA - IT TAKES A WHILE TO LEARN TO TALK THE LONG LANGUAGE OF THE ROCKS

Opening Saturday February 15th 7:00-11:00pm 2025

February 15th - April 26th 2025

at Flip Project space; via Giovanni Paladino 8 Napoli

in collaboration with Galleria Tiziana Di Caro; Piazzetta Nilo 7 Napoli

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As an absent minded student in semiotics class Giovanni Giaretta came across a text included in the book ‘The Writing of Stones’ by Roger Caillois which since then has become part of his personal pantheon. Captivated by Caillois' poetic descriptions of the figures in stones Giaretta’s fascination with geological elements like minerals and rocks has remained a lasting obsession to this day. As an artist he is not approaching the rocks trying to read them in a scientific meaning but gets inspired by their boundless visual potential. 

“There is no fiction more original—in terms of schizophrenia collectivity of writers movements of different plots composition rich inauthenticity and jargons—than the Earth itself the Earth composed of dust particles and fluxes.”                 ( –Reza Negarestani)

Giaretta's artistic practice focuses on moving images. His videos are the result of a meticulous research process that seeks to intertwine images texts and sounds compelling reality to be engulfed by surreal dreamlike and unconventional elements.

In his work Giaretta skillfully combines cinematic archetypes with themes investigated through an autoethnographic approach. Frequently the works emerge following a period of engagement with distinct groups of individuals or specific life situations as Giovanni dedicates his research to examining the intricate relationship between perception and alteration. 

The project at FLIP is an extension and further exploration of the exhibition IT TAKES A WHILE TO LEARN TO TALK THE LONG LANGUAGE OF THE ROCKS at Galleria Tiziana di Caro with a specific focus on his writing practice. In fact the works serve as a visual elaboration of the notes sentences and poetry he collected during the research. Together with long-time collaborator Canadian graphic designer Frédérique Gagnon they created a specific graphic intervention that highlights this aspect of Giaretta’s practice. These pieces explore his ongoing fascination with geological elements whereby different particular physical characteristics of the stones are underlined and enhanced transforming themselves into scenographies and subjects. 

Flip Project is delighted to announce this new collaboration with another research space in town Galleria Tiziana Di Caro. We warmly invite you to the opening of both spaces which will take place on the same evening and just a few steps from each other. The exhibition at FLIP can be visited by appointment.

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Giovanni Giaretta (Padua 1983) currently lives and works in Amsterdam.

After graduating in Design and Production of Visual Arts at the University IUAV of Venice he took

part in a number of residency programs including: Dena Foundation for Contemporary Art in Paris

De Ateliers in Amsterdam Deltaworkers in New Orleans and Fondazione Antonio Ratti in Como. His work has been featured in exhibitions in Italy and abroad at diverse institutions and galleries such as: West (Den Hague NL) Fortuny (Venice IT); Museo Burel (Belluno IT) Mambo (Bologna IT); Galleria Tiziana Di Caro (Naples IT); La Criée (Rennes FR); De Appel (Amsterdam NL); MACRO (Rome IT); Musée Départemental d’Art Contemporain de Rochechouart (Rochechouart FR); Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo (Turin IT). His films have been shown at the International Film Festival of Rotterdam (Rotterdam NL) IDFA (Amsterdam NL) Internationale Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen among other festivals and screenings. Between 2015-16 he co-taught a course with Maha Maamoun at the Salzburg International Summer Academy AT. Since 2019 Giovanni Giaretta has held the position of lecturer in the Moving Images and Fine Art departments at the AKI Academy of Art & Design in Enschede The Netherlands. 

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Flip Project is an artist-run space (2011 Naples) an independent curatorial project a platform for discussions devoted to developing models of collaboration that expand on interests in contemporary culture and artistic practice.

Flip is motivated by continuous changes in location and spontaneous occurrences that extend from the local to address the current milieu. Flip presents across a multiplicity of ‘spatial’ situations where discussions take shape as exhibitions publications (web digital and print) workshops screenings seminars. Flip has curated in dialogue with fellow participants/artists/authors/curators involved in a variety of projects that have taken place also in unusual contexts outside of museum norms and beyond borders.

Host or Publisher Flip Project