Luigi Solito Galleria Contemporanea reopens with a group show of 16 international artists who have gravitated around the Berlin art scene for years. Portal #2 is the edition of the collective work initially presented at Schaufenster in Berlin in November 2020. In order to underline the relationship between the two realities, the subtitle Naples / Berlin identifies the connection, the space-time portal that is intended to cross and ideally unite the two cultural and artistic contexts among the most dynamic and prolific in Europe in recent decades. The exhibition in Naples is curated by Anna Nezhnaya, young emerging artist born in Moscow, who lives and works in Berlin. For the occasion to bring the show to Naples she is joined by Fabia Mendoza, Berlin artist and author (among the most recent projects) of the musical and political award-winning documentary The White House on the artistic action The Rosa Parks House of her husband Ryan.

From Saturday, May 15, in the renovated spaces of the Gallery (former Lanificio complex – piazza Enrico De Nicola 46), Minor Alexander (Germany), Kristina Bekker (Germany-Russia), Diego Cibelli (Italy), Katya Quel Elizarova (Germany-Russia), Wolfgang Flad (Germany), Lukas Glinkowski (Germany), Andrej Golder (Germany), Gregor Hildebrandt (Germany), John Isaacs (England), Ryan Mendoza (USA), Anna Nezhnaya (Germany-Russia), Emmanuel Pidré (Argentina), Tim Plamper (Germany), Frédéric Platéus (Belgium), Alexander Skorobogatov (Germany) and Sergej Tchoban (Germany-Russia) will exhibit their heterogeneous set of works that includes canvases, sculptures, installations, photographs and drawings.

The choice of the city of Berlin and its art scene, as well as the selection of artists and the curatorship of Anna Nezhnaya and Fabia Mendoza is not random. The gallerist Luigi Solito states: «The reasons for these choices are many. The first is related to the market: we have to make a clear distinction between what the market was before the pandemic and what it turned out to be after. A cyclicity and repetitiveness linked to fashion and market trends has inevitably been interrupted. The German market itself has a unique tradition, and it is no coincidence that the world’s most influential living European artists include Gerhard Richter and Anselm Kiefer. Germany is one of the few nations that finances artists; in short, if something happens we will see it happen in Europe and certainly in Germany, therefore in Berlin. Naples was one of the few cities, before Covid, that for historical reasons or because of its energy was considered a place to be for artists. And we want to believe that this is still the case, analyzing the vision that comes to us from outside».

Likewise, curator Fabia Mendoza adds: «With a focus on direct interaction with a young audience through playing the city performatively, the Luigi Solito Galleria Contemporanea is a new generation, adding life to the established international Neapolitan galleries. It is not surprising that Solito ushers in this new era with a group of young emerging artists from Berlin, where fresh, experimental and trend-setting art can be discovered. Art that glitters like diamonds among the oversupply of often cheaply produced, trivial art that pathetically tries to load itself with meaning instead of proudly existing according to Andrej Tarkovskij’s credo: If you look too hard for meaning, you’ll miss everything that is happening around you». 
For Anna Nezhnaya, the curator, Naples is a step forward: «When we opened Portal in the project space Schaufenster in Berlin, I felt like I was a child on Christmas day; a magical feeling when you enter the living room, where the Christmas tree is shining and presents are lying. As a curator, I just brought together the art of those artists whom I have admired and who had inspired me. As a result, the exhibition attracted the attention of the Berlin public, who had sat in lockdown and hungry for art. I was extremely happy and flattered when the Luigi Solito gallery suggested that I open Portal #2 in Naples and thereby create a portal between Naples and Berlin».

For Portal #2, emerging Berlin artists are paired with established names in the international art scene such as John Isaacs, Ryan Mendoza, Andrej Golder and Gregor Hildebrandt. In search of the “portal” that Alice in Wonderland once upon a time found in the mirror, Portal #2 – Naples / Berlin leads us into a dream world that couldn’t be more alive than Naples and more specific to Berlin.

Also, part of the Portal #2 project is a “satellite” event, an exhibition side-project to present the solo show of director and photographer Lennart Brede (Germany) entitled Because You Want To Be Loved. Still curated by Anna Nezhnaya and Fabia Mendoza, the photographic exhibition for OFF / Portal #2 can be visited at the historic Spazio NEA of Luigi Solito (via Costantinopoli 53, piazza Bellini 59) on the same days and in the same way: opening Saturday, May 15 (from 10 am to 8 pm) in compliance with the regulations in force to ensure the maximum safety and health of visitors, to avoid assemblages and ensure due distancing.

Virginia Cuccaro’s society for the arts of promotes the gallery and the production of the exhibition.