SILVIA LELLI. Neon collection / Neon installation in Milan, 29 ARTS IN PROGRESS gallery

A selection of works embodying the relationship between performance and photography, through the recurring glow of neon lights.


From October 6th to November 11th 2017, #29artsinprogress gallery (via San Vittore 13) presents the exhibition Neon collection / Neon installation by #silvialelli. 


The exhibition – curated by Giovanni Pelloso – gathers a selection of works entitled Neon Collection / Neon Installation (1982-2017). The installation is composed of fifteen assemblages including different forms of photography, performance art, dance and theatre, endowed with strong visual accents and sound illusions.
Originally the main attempt was that of creating – through the juxtaposition of the “real” neon and the “portrayed” one – the original atmosphere of the performances – all related to the vibrant cultural scene of the ’70 and the ’80 – and, above all, bringing a whole environment into being, paradoxically free of the most typical photographic boundaries. Functional and “fictious” neon are overlapped so as to guide the view in some rather unexpected ways. 


Indeed, images gain extraordinary eloquence due to the addition of fluorescent tubes that best emphasize the gestural aspects of the body. Photographs are altered by this new lighting conception – ranging from white to red and blue shades – that allows the viewer to have a brand new yet revealing insight into the two-dimensional nature of the medium itself. 


“The artist gave life to this project by gathering a selection of photos taken on different occasions that eternalize and rearrange various fragments of performances staged over the years by some leading figures of the cultural milieu. Lelli firstly selected those photographs where neon lights were most vividly present and than interpreted them according to her peculiar vision. Illusionism is here resolutely denied by the addition of some tangible materials – rarefied gas flowing in the tube – in the exact point where it is also represented. The end results exceed the visual plane by gaining deeper meanings on the metalinguistic one. These works are texts raised to the power of two: Lelli uses lights to write upon images whose inner grammar has already been written and determined by lights.” (Cristina Casero)


Silvia Lelli 


After graduating with a degree in architecture, she started to photograph in the theatre, dance and performance art field.
She had a series of works published and exhibited such as Storia di un soldato (1979), Ritratti senza posa (1985), Neon collection / Neon installation (1982-2017), Flying Music (2008), Danza Dentro-Danza Oltre (1998-2004), Körper und Raum (1999-2001), In cammino, al bordo (2007).
She partecipated in the 54th Venice Biennale in the Italian Pavilion (2011), in the exhibition Luce (Parma, 2015), contributed to the publication and exhibition Parlando von voi, incontri con fotografe italiane (2013).In 2017 she produced a video installation called Vuoto con memoria.
She has been documenting Riccardo Muti’s career since 1978 and the history of La Scala Philharmonic Orchestra since 1981.
She has also collaborated with Salzburg and Ravenna Festivals. She is the chief photographer of La Scala Theatre, together with Roberto Masotti.  Some of their works are: Teatro alla Scala, magia della scena, L’attimo prima della musica, Suoni-Spazi-Silenzi, Note Sparse, Theatrum Instrumentorum, trainCAGEtrain, Giuseppe Sinopoli attimi, sguardi, Bianco Nero Piano Forte, Passacaglia Alta, La Vertigine del Teatro, Musiche, Stanze al presente, Empty Words, Filarmonica della Scala, Stratos e Area.
She was included in Storia d’Italia Einaudi – L’immagine fotografica 1945-2000.


SILVIA LELLI. Neon collection / Neon installation
#milano, #29artsinprogress gallery - Via San Vittore 13 
October 6 – November 11, 2017


Opening by invitation: Thursday 5th October, from 7 PM


Timetables: from Tuesday to Saturday, 11.00-19.00. 
            Other days on appointment


Free entrance


Information: tel. 02 94387188; 392 1002348 
                          info@29artsinprogress.com 


Website: www.29artsinprogress.com