Meta.Project.Art is a start up based in Lugano born from Elena Rivautella’s passion for art. Her mission is to populate the world (both physical and virtual) with the human visions of her artists. Meta.project participates in contemporary art fairs to introduce international talents with multiple languages, all selected because they are committed with professionalism and passion in their artistic path and, often, for their innovation in finding new materials and new expressive forms. Meta.project therefore offers art lovers always new proposals also for a solid investment in works of art: from painting to photography, to installations, to sculpture, to NFTs. META.PROJECT at YouNique Lugano 2024 Meta.project is pleased to present at Younique this year eight well-known photographers who have put themselves on the line and, for the first time, have approached the virtual world and NFTs. At the fair, their physical works are displayed on the walls and a selection of their NFTs in the Meta.Project virtual gallery accessible by wearing the headset. The visitor will thus be able to live an immersive experience in the metaverse. The artists presented explored, each according to their own poetics, aspects of the human soul which, although different from each other, still belong to each individual. The emotion and the unconscious part are investigated in the poetic work of ALICE SERAFINO, in the dream of ELENA RIVAUTELLA, in the portrait of GIORGIO LOTTI and in the figure in search of its own expression of DIEGO DOMINICI. The instinctual part is tickled by the two-dimensional visions of real and transcendental nature by DAVIDE JELMINI and CESARE GUALDONI. The rational part is intrigued and seduced by the black and white works deriving from solid visions and appearances expanded across multiple perspectives by ANDREA MORI and MAURO GUGLIELMINOTTI. DIEGO DOMINICI Born in 1980. Graduated in Philosophy, Diego Dominici approaches photography driven by passion. The attention to detail, technical precision and compositional rigor allowed him to transform this passion into a profession in 2008, the year in which he began working with photography at national and international level. Currently, he lives and works in Turin, alongside his profession with continuous photographic research in the artistic field. Describing the works of Diego Dominici means immersing oneself in the human psyche, digging into the most hidden abysses of the unconscious. Aesthetics, the point of departure and arrival of Diego’s artistic research, becomes the way to dissect the obsessions, deviations and affective-cognitive incapacities of human everyday life: sometimes an “eyesore”, others a caress, his shots always conceal tales, deep narratives, which pierce the two-dimensionality of the shot to investigate the tangles of human interiority. The choice is up to the observer: to dwell on an aesthetic that is always meticulously and rigorously studied, or to deepen the investigation. The ATMAN (essence) series – of which the works on display are part – is the result of long aesthetic research, where the author used physical filters (glass, panels and various plastic materials) through which he photographed various subjects. In this series of photographs, fabric constitutes a new frontier, through which the essence of the individual manifests itself, creating new surfaces that move between light and shadow. A new “skin” is thus formed, which becomes both a shell and a surface. The subject reveals itself through a voluntary gesture, creating new forms on the surface which diverge from the will of the subject, thus causing the signified to diverge from the signifier. Atman is a photographic project that talks to us about communication and relationship problems, distance and isolation, acceptance and the will to react. CESARE GUALDONI “Two is not double of one, but the opposite.” Description: The images were taken on the island of Kefalonia Greece in August 2023, with double exposure in shooting. They are offered in limited editions of /5 (+01 artist’s proof) on demand (10×15 cm free edition), printed on Hahnemühle Baryta paper, mounted on Dibond aluminum, 50×75 cm or 60×90 format with aluminum “ArtBox” frame, 25 mm or 50 mm aluminum profile (Black or Natural) . Images are accompanied by NFT to additional certificate of authenticity! BIOGRAPHY Cesare Gualdoni was born in Milan on 2 September 1959. He has been a professional watch and jewellery photographer for 35 years. He has taught photography for 40 years. In the 1980s, he exhibited ‘VIDICON’ at the Book Shop Utopia in Milan and his “Affiches of watches” at the “Mercante in Fiera”at the Parma fair. In 2022 at the Mia Photo Fair in Milan he presented his work ‘Flowers and Vegetables’ and at WOPART in Lugano ‘Paris Double Shots’. At the Milan Photofestival, also in 2022, he exhibited ‘Monti Sibillini Zen’ and ‘Val di Fassa, not only Vaia’. In 2023, he presented ‘VIDICON 1980/81’ at the Milano Sunday Photo and to the ONOFF gallery. Participates in the “Fiori Salone” as part of the ‘Fuori Salone del Mobile’ in Milan. MAURO GUGLIELMINOTTI Born in Turin on 2 February 1956. After obtaining a classical high school diploma, he graduated in Nuclear Engineering at the Polytechnic of Turin. He began photographing in 1983 and over the following years attended internships with Franco Fontana, Klaus Zaugg, Frederic Brenner, Mario De Biasi. Since 1997 he has published, alone or with other photographers, various books such as “La Manifattura Tabacchi di Torino” for the Province of Turin, “Le cathedrals of work” on behalf of the publisher Allemandi, edited by the Italian Foundation for Photography, “L “island that exists” for Ed.Morra, “Shopping an adventure for the new millennium” on behalf of the Carrefour/GS Group, “A tutto campo”, published by the Loescher Publishing House, and services for various language manuals for Edizioni Loescher and DeAgostiniScuola and for the book “Europa futuro” ed.Jouvence and in 2014 « Istanbul » for Arca Edizioni. and in 2021 « Detroit in my life » with Iger&Partners His photographs have been preserved at the Italian Foundation for Photography of Turin and now GAM Turin. He has held visual art lessons at schools near Turin, at the Italian Foundation for Photography, and for the non-profit association Unponteper, and was an expert of the Court of Turin for disputes in the photographic field. He has exhibited in various places, since 1987 taking part in the Turin International Photography Biennial in the Young Authors section, at the Palais de l’Unesco in Paris, recalling among others the Maison d’Italie in Paris, some Turin and Milanese art galleries , the Italian Foundation for Photography, the University of Lausanne, Celle Ligure, Senigallia, Parma for a Telecom project, various bookshops in Italy including the Manifesto bookshop in Rome and Feltrinelli in Milan, in Milan for the Nava Foundation for the International World Day on the Rights of the Child, in 2009 at the Venice Biennale in the Kurdistan pavilion, then in the following years again in Paris. at the Galérie Levy and in Turin in various exhibitions. Currently some photographs of him are at the Cristiani Gallery in Turin and the Art Research Gallery in Paris. Member of the TauVisual Association of Italian Professional Photographers, from which he received an honorable mention for the in-depth reportage in 2008 and a recommendation in 2009, he collaborated for years with the Grazia Neri Agency and then with Farabola. He is currently part of the BuenaVista Photo group of Italian photojournalists and collaborates with the Bridgeman Agency. He was co-founder of the photojournalism magazine ilReportage, of which he was the photoeditor for several years. He mainly deals with photojournalism and social and travel reportage. He lives and works between Paris and Turin. DAVIDE JELMINI Lives and works between Lugano and the Balearic Islands. At the end of his professional sports career, he dedicates himself to the study and the careful analysis of all the elements that distinguish the human body. Therapy, personal and emotional development, are just some of the characteristics addressed during his training. Inspired from an early age by the shots of Yann Arthus-Bertrand, in recent years he focused on perspective games, interpreting in a personal and unconventional way angles and details. The shapes that are born from the shots give life to unusual magical compositions and emotions. Multifaceted artist and passionate about photography, visionary and nature lover he loves to discover non-conformist point of view, that give the opportunity to uncover the magic of the “natural art” that surrounds us. 2021 Honorable mention in Abstract Category in Chromatic Awards with “Monster” GIORGIO LOTTI Giorgio Lotti was born in Milan in 1937. He began working as a photographer in 1957, collaborating as a free-lance for some newspapers and weeklies such as “Milano Sera”, “La Notte”, “Il Mondo”, “Settimo giorno”, “Paris Match”. In 1964 he joined the staff of Epoca under the direction of Nando Sampietro where he remained until 1997, the year the newspaper closed. He then worked at Panorama until 2002. Meanwhile, in 1973, for a reportage made in China, he was awarded “The World Understanding Award” by the University of Photojournalism, Columbia, In the same year, during one of his numerous trips to China, he created the official portrait of Zhou en Lai, the most printed photo in the world (over one hundred million copies). He also participated in numerous editions of Sicof curated by Lanfranco Colombo and, during the 16th Sicof, in 1995, he was awarded the “Horus Sicof 1995” for the role played in the field of Italian photography. Numerous awards followed: from the city of Venice his one for his reportages on the Serenissima; Among the many books published, it is worth mentioning “Venezia mori” (Milan, 1970), “Il Duomo Avvelenato” (Persico Editore, 1972), “Il Teatro alla Scala” (Mondadori, 1978), “Luce Mare” (Baldini editore 1981 ), “China, China, China” – with preface by Deng Xiao Ping – (Baldini editore 1986), “Florence 1966, the flood of wrath and miracle” (Nicolini editore, 1991) with texts by Guido Gerosa and Daniela Palazzoli . ANDREA MORI Andrea Mori was born in Rome in 1961 and is a professor of Mathematics at the University of Turin. He soon learned photographic theory and practice by accompanying his amateur photographer father around the city. Sacrificed for a long time for the benefit of other goals, he rediscovered photography in more recent times and began to use it as a means of artistic expression. After experimenting with various genres, he concentrated on architectural photography where, over time, he developed a project and a personal style whose inspiration can be traced to metaphysical painting, surrealist ambiguities, and the geometries of M.C. Escher. Project In the Solid Dreams project, details or parts of buildings are decontextualized and transformed into more abstract images where the geometry of the components is enhanced. The chiaroscuro and shading help to endow the images with a dreamlike and ambiguous metaphysics. The objective is to stimulate reflection on the interactions between space and form and their perception. Awards: Gold Medal: Tokyo Int.al Foto Awards (2022) ELENA RIVAUTELLA Elena Rivautella approached painting thanks to the Tsunami which, in 2004, devastated South-East Asia. Having miraculously survived the event, Elena, having returned to her homeland, feels the urgency of transferring onto canvas the emotions that could not be expressed through her voice. From that period are the powerful and “screaming” works of what she defines as her “shamanic” period populated by disturbing figures. After years, her scream was replaced by singing and her painting became abstract. From oil she the artist moves on to liquid colours, intervening in their flow and their uncontrollability, obtaining works of unexpected fantastic visions, which allow the emotions of the creative moment to shine through. In recent years the artist has also become passionate about digital photography. Her forms, both in painting and in photography, allude and never declare, leaving the observer free to find his own place within the work. However, the initial imprinting is always present: Elena in fact loves to investigate madness and enjoys pouring it into all of her works which range unstoppably between painting, photography and digital art. She has performed numerous times in Italy and abroad. She lives between the heart of the Langhe and the waters of Lake Lugano. https://www.instagram.com/elena_rivautella ALICE SERAFINO Alice Serafino (Pinerolo, 1980). Alice is a visual artist who works primarily with pre-existing materials (both natural and artificial). She loves old photographs and objects which often become the raw material of her works. The techniques that she mainly uses are cyanotype, photogram, engraving and collage. In February 2021 she was selected among the finalists for the Arte Laguna Prize and four works from the ‘Naturalia’ series were exhibited in the spaces of the Arsenale Nord in Venice in October 2021 together with the other finalist works. She lives and works in San Secondo di Pinerolo (Turin). Request contact Art Gallery Via Soave 1, Lugano, Svizzera T. (+41) 76 8050368
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in 1994, in Modena, the prestigious “Città di Modena” literary prize; in 2020, in Bibbiena, he received the “Master of Italian Photography” award from Fiaf.
Some images of him are preserved in American museums, in Tokyo, Beijing, at the Royal Victoria Albert Museum in London, at the Cabinet des Estampes in Paris, at the Study Center of the University of Parma, at the Galleria Civica in Modena.
Over the last ten years he has dedicated himself to photographic research in the field of color and art.
Monographs: “Giorgio Lotti, special monograph”, Progresso photographic, September 1978, edited by Attilio Colombo
“The great photographers”, Gruppo Editoriale Fabbri, 1982, with texts by Romeo Martinez, Bruno Munari and Attilio Colombo
“One hundred years of cinema”, Fotopratica, 1995
“40 years of history told by the great photographers of the era”, Fotopratica, 1997, edited by Laura Leonelli and Gianni Baumberger
The inspiration can be traced back to metaphysical painting, to the complicated geometries of Escher, to certain ambiguities of Magritte.
Bronze Medal: reFocus Awards (2023)
Honorable mentions: Tokio Int.al Foto Awards (2021), Monochrome Awards (2021, 2022), Monovision Awards (2022)
The Artist adopts the same adventurous approach towards photography. With this medium she loves to portray her own disturbing visions using physical bodies (plants, flowers and human bodies).
After graduating in painting from the Academy of Fine Arts, she continued to deepen her research in the fields of photography, illustration and graphics.
In recent years you have exhibited your works both in Italy (Turin, Genoa, Rome, Cagliari, Milan, Bologna, Venice, Trieste) and abroad (Istanbul, Prague, London, Budapest).
In 2018 she won the N.I.C.E. Award in February. Paratissima Bologna and in November the Art Gallery Paratissima Turin Award. In October 2019 she was selected among the finalists of the fourth edition of the LYNX International Contemporary Art Award and she won the Be Art Builder award.
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