Lost in a luminous forest
Afran's solo exhibition
Edited by Cristiano Plicato Critical text by Simona Bartolena
Giuseppe Scalvini Museum, DESIO
Opening: Saturday 1st April at 5.30pm
On Saturday 1st April, the Giuseppe Scalvini Museum in Desio will inaugurate Afran 's solo exhibition, Lost in a Bright Forest . On display are paintings, sculptures and some site-specific installations, in dialogue with the ancient rooms of the Museum.
An ambitious project, created in collaboration with MA-EC Gallery, which has been following Afran's artistic path for years and which adds to the long list of prestigious venues that have hosted his creations, from the Venice Biennale to the Milan Triennale, to the Spielzeug Museum in Basel, to name just a few.
The critic Simona Bartolena writes: “There is no work by this young and talented artist that does not bear traces of his thought: a solid, structured, intelligent thought. “My intent is to tell the contradictions of our time,” she says, “In fact, our world is no longer dark like Dante's medieval world, ours is wonderful, technological, hyperconnected; a world that has been able to learn from the great wars, that has torn down the Berlin Wall, but paradoxically we find ourselves in 2023 digging trenches in the most rudimentary way while at the same time controlling the enemy positions with drones”. Afran's research focuses precisely on the great contradictions of our time, on the identity issues (very complex for a Cameroonian boy transplanted to Italy) that characterize contemporary society and on the unbearable spread of the need to appear, which sees exteriority as the only idol. The choice of fabric – Denim in particular, a fabric with a notable symbolic, democratic and modern twentieth-century value – goes precisely in this direction, for Afran “a sort of zero degree”, a material in which everyone can “shape” their own identity, building their own external image.
The message runs from work to work, relying on different expressive means. Afran does not shout; even his provocation is subtle, never exalted, never complacent. There is no temptation of self-celebration in his works, rather an immediacy and an honesty at times disarming. And so here is the game, the overlaps, the cultural contaminations, the winks to pop, the references to Western tradition and African roots, in an effective melting pot that reflects the complexity of our time, imposing on us reflections that are anything but banal.
Amazon packages that become Trojan horses to welcome into your home or golden calves to idolize, hallucinogenic mushrooms covered with the logos of the most popular social platforms, tribal masks composed of the same icons, classical statues defaced by a “badly done” attempt at decoration, sacred sculptures covered in elegant floral patterns… In a kaleidoscope of colors and materials, Afran projects us into a fascinating and attractive world, which hides a very precious message behind its pleasantness. A message that is worth reflecting on.”
Event coordinates:
Title: Lost in a Bright Forest. Afran's Solo Exhibition
Edited by Cristiano Plicato. Critical text by Simona Bartolena
Location: Giuseppe Scalvini Museum, Villa Tittoni, Via Lampugnani 62, Desio
Opening: Saturday 1st April at 5.30pm
Dates: from 1 to 30 April 2023 from Thursday to Sunday 10.30-12.30 and 15.30-18.00 Sunday 9 April Easter Sunday the exhibition remains closed.
Info: info.milanart@gmail.com
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