Ericailcane at Galleria Patricia Armocida in Milan

Dente per dente, 2009. Image courtesy Galleria Patricia Armocida

Milan is probably one of the worst European cities i know art-wise. Milan doesn’t do risky, innovative exhibitions the way its smaller neighbour Turin does, for example. Milan is many things but it’s not a place that breathes, thrives or banks on art, at least not the thought-provoking, cutting-edge one. This of course doesn’t mean that there aren’t fantastic galleries in Milan.

Ammazzarne uno per educarne 100, 2009. Image Galleria Patricia Armocida

Galleria Patricia Armocida, for example, is pretty unique in the Milan panorama (and no, i don’t think there’s anything similar in Turin but please do let me know if i’m wrong). On Thursday, i went to there to visit the solo exhibition of artist Ericailcane whom i had discovered a year ago in Florence.

Ombre lunghe al tramonto (detail)

Ombre lunghe al tramonto. Image Galleria Patricia Armocida

Famous for his work as a street artist, Ericailcane shows with this exhibition the full palette of his talents: drawings, prints, engravings, a video, and a site-specific installation. Each artwork is satirical, delicate and very evocative.

Guerra Civile, Pingolino, 2009, Courtesy Galleria Patricia Armocida, Milan

The title of the exhibit, ‘Civil War’, expresses the undeniable state of crisis which characterizes our society. It’s the internal war we wage upon each other, everyone against everyone. Divided, separated, diffident to the point of inevitably clashing. After the conflict, all that remains is smoke, desolation, and ruins, but also a peaceful silence.
Ericailcane’s bestiaries depict this as an awakening after a dream. Anthropomorphic creatures are an allegory of human weakness, wondrous animals that re-emerge from our childhood memories to illustrate fairy tales that are morally crude and disenchanted.
The fine and delicate lines in the drawings, the masterful etching and drypoint technique in the refined engravings, the stop-motion animation in the video are the keys which lead us into an extraordinarily poetic world.

Diritto civile, detail, 2009