/ PRESENTATION
In Pisa, between 2021 and 2022, Urban Art took over Palazzo Blu - Attitude | Graffiti Writing, Street Art, Neo Muralism
From the street to international recognition: 45 artists and over 70 works in dialogue with the museum’s ancient art collections - December 14, 2021 – April 3, 2022
On Tuesday, December 14, 2021, Palazzo Blu inaugurated the exhibition “Attitude | Graffiti Writing, Street Art, Neo Muralism”, a project curated by Gianguido Grassi, organized by Start - Open Your Eyes and produced by Fondazione Pisa, with the patronage of the Municipality of Pisa, Province of Pisa, Tuscany Region, and the Regional Council of Tuscany, and with the support of the University of Pisa, Scuola Normale Superiore, and Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies.
Gianguido Grassi created a unique event-exhibition at Palazzo Blu, including live performances, which for the first time in Tuscany presented a generation of artists—most in their forties—who began their practice illegally in the streets and have since developed a refined and intentional artistic language, continuing the legacy of avant-garde and disruptive art of the 1960s.
The exhibition has given voice to 45 artists from around the world—urban art talents who have successfully merged the creative energy of the streets with a solid artistic foundation, now working internationally and participating in exhibitions and major art events.
The Exhibition Path - Attitude | Graffiti Writing, Street Art, Neo Muralism brought together the diverse forms of urban art, from graffiti to abstraction. The 74 exhibited works came from the artists’ personal archives and prominent collections. The exhibition began in the library room and continued through the fourth floor of Palazzo Blu, presenting the various facets of urban art—from its rebellious and social roots in graffiti to the monumental language of more recent institutional manifestations.
‘Attitude’ refers to an innate or acquired disposition—physical, psychophysical, or psychic—that enables or facilitates a given activity. In street slang, it describes the approach and mindset with which a writer carries out their expressive action,” explains curator Gianguido Grassi. “There are many personal attitudes and a vast range of artistic results within a phenomenon already extremely wide in a geographic scale. That’s why it’s difficult to define and navigate this broad container, which unites artists who began painting spontaneously in urban contexts and converge street energy and creative force. The term ‘urban art’ was thus adopted to encompass a wide array of experiences that have developed over time and still coexist today. To simplify, we can identify three main categories: Graffiti Writing, Street Art, and Neo Muralism—which in turn branches into figurative and abstract approaches».
Many of the featured artists in Attitude | Graffiti Writing, Street Art, Neo Muralism have painted in Pisa and throughout Tuscany, contributing to the establishment of one of the most disruptive and global cultural movements of the last 40 years—one that has influenced the collective imagination and reshaped the look of our cities. A testament to this is the Porta a Mare district, listed by Sky Arte among the 20 must-see places in Italy for its painted walls.
Artists in the exhibition include:
108, 2501, Abbominevole, Aec Interesni Kazki, Alberonero, Aris, Francesco Barbieri, Giorgio Bartocci, Beast, Francisco Bosoletti, C215, Ciredz, Dado, Duke1, Egs, Eron, Etnik, Farao, Gaia, Hitnes, Imos, Joys, Rae Martini, Massimo Sospetto, Moneyless, Moses&Taps, No Curves, Oker, Okuda San Miguel, Ozmo, Alice Pasquini, Peeta, Phase2, Porto, Remi Rough, Run, Rusto, Rusty, Sbam, Shepard Fairey - Obey, Soap the Wizard, Solomostry, Sten&Lex, Tellas, Zed1, Zedz.
Between December 2021 and April 2022, the exhibition also hosted four live performances—one per month—each featuring a key figure in the world of Urban Art. The artists presented solo shows in the Focus Room of Palazzo Blu, each lasting one month.
The first was 108, a leading figure in abstract post-graffiti, known for Nusing, the first major exhibition on European post-graffiti held in Paris in 2004, and for participating in the 52nd Venice Biennale in 2007 At Palazzo Blu, he presented “The Museum of the Absurd”, a site-specific installation combining painted fragments inspired by concepts of transformation and the transient nature of place—reminiscent of his street works.
Following 108 was Joys, an Italian graffiti legend and pioneer who has painted his geometric designs in places as far as Russia and China. Next came 2501, a Milan-based artist and scholar of countercultures, who presented a live performance and sculpture installation in the museum’s adjacent rooms.
The solo series concluded with work by New York street artist Gaia, already active in Pisa and named by Forbes among the “30 Under 30” who are set to change the world.
