Blue, Banksy and other artists at the Street Art in Blue exhibition in Turin, Italy

There is a theater in Turin that for the past few years has turned even its outer walls into a stage. Under the spotlight are not only the boards of the great hall of the Teatro Colosseo-the largest private theater in Piedmont with its 1520 seats-but also the walls of the characteristic building with its round balconies in the San Salvario neighborhood. Thanks to the passion of the Spoto family, owners of the theater, and the collaboration with the collectors’ collective Xora, the exterior walls between Via Madama Cristina and Via Bidone have gradually been populated with large works of street art, from the transfigured map of the neighborhood created by ZEDZ, to the two bears - one polar and one brown - by Nevercrew and Bordalo II, the three-dimensional portal by Peeta, to the latest arrivals by Nemo’s and Aito Kitazaki.

From the collaboration between the collectors’ collective Xora, Teatro Colosseo and Associazione Culturale Dreams comes to Turin the exhibition STREET ART IN BLUE, entirely dedicated to the world of Street Art: at Teatro Colosseo (the largest private theater in Piedmont, with 1,520 seats), from August 23 to September 29, 2019, the exhibition will invade its spaces, from the foyer to the interior spaces to the hall.

Undisputed protagonists of the installation, curated by Lacryma Lisnic, will be two world-famous names such as Blu and Banksy. The former, Italian and almost certainly from Senigallia, the latter from Bristol in England, are united by the mystery that shrouds their identities, tenaciously concealed from the public, and by the incisiveness of their messages, which often touch on political and social issues.

Blu, an eminently political artist and an alternative to the system (he is said to live in a camper on the outskirts of Rome), puts social struggle and criticism, environmental protection, at the center of his works. Allergic to the commercialization of his works and their exhibition (his last authorized solo show was in 2007 and his last multiple works in 2012) he keeps intact the primacy of the street in his artistic expression.

Prominent among his many works on display in the exhibition are one of the shutters he painted in Bologna in the 2000s,Carrarmato Man, the Page 5 ballpoint pen sketch previously exhibited in the 2007 solo show The Street of Europe, the Headquarters print with the work he made for the famous Street Art exhibition at the Tate in London, and a fragment of The Sniffer made for Street Art Sweet Art in Milan in 2007.

Banksy, on the other hand, while remaining in complete anonymity, is talked about in the media, a true global star who provokes with irony, sells his works in million-dollar auctions, constantly invents borderline situations that become opportunities for penetrating viral marketing, capable of making people think while smiling. The exhibition at the Colosseum Theater will give the public a chance to finally see up close many original works by this artist, from the iconic and poetic The Girl with the Balloon to the clearly anti-militarist prints Applause and Bomb middle England, just to name a few.

However, it is not only Banksy and Blu who will be the protagonists: the exhibition will also be an opportunity to see the works of other extraordinary Street Art talents.

Ericailcane, Phase2, Delta2, KayOne, Nevercrew, Aito Kitazaki, Beneine, Eron, Rusty, Zedz are some of the artists featured. Names who have contributed to making cities around the world extraordinary open-air museums and conveying through their works messages of cultural resistance, ecology and profound humanity. Among them, unforgettable is what is now called “the first example of American writing in Italy,” namely a work created by Phase 2 in the small square of Quattordio in the historic 1984 exhibition.

Originals, detachments, silkscreens and vinyls for a journey of more than 100 works into the fascinating, mysterious and often elusive world of the most everyday and exceptional of contemporary art forms. To inaugurate STREET ART IN BLU there will be an informal opening, in full Street Art style: on Thursday, August 22, it will be possible to visit the exhibition for free.

For all information you can call +39 0116698034 or visit the Colosseum Theater website.

Pictured: Banksy, Applause

Source: press release

Blue, Banksy and other artists at the Street Art in Blue exhibition in Turin, Italy

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