In recent weeks the focus has been on the new Milan branch of the UNA gallery (already active in the Piacenza scene) and CASTIGLIONI, inaugurated the double solo exhibition of Valentina Furian (Venice, 1989) and Alessandro Carano (Varese, 1984).
Valentina Furian + Alessandro Carano, installation view, 2025, ph. credits Michela Pedranti, courtesy UNA / CASTIGLIONI
The work of the two artists innovatively explores forms, media and reflections already active and thriving in the contemporary art context. On the one hand, Valentina Furian‘s work settles in the boundary between reality and fiction, where sharp separations break down in an environment of continuous mixing; through moving images and installations, her research focuses on the dynamics between human beings and nature paying special attention to the tensions and exchanges between “wild” and “domesticated”. This central theme in the artist’s work is rooted in deep, historical reflections on the nature of humanity and its relationship with the natural environment. With Eclissi, a video that captures the petrified, barred eyes of Canova’s Medusa (a sculpture preserved at the Museo Gipsoteca in Possagno), and with the series of drawings on sheets of colored gelatin, the artist investigates not only the natural/cultural divide, but more importantly the dialectic of power and control as part of human social organization. Inevitable is the connection with the theories of Elias Canetti.
Valentina Furian, “Eclissi”, video due canali su schermi CRT, muto, colore, 1′, 2024, installation view, XNL Arte, ph. credits Daniele Signaroldi, courtesy UNA e l’artista; Valentina Furian, “Untitled” (“Transparent dog”) #1, 2025, acrilico su foglio di gelatina, 60,5 x 47,5 cm (framed), courtesy l’artista e UNA, ph. credits Daniele Signaroldi
Much like the Bulgarian philosopher, Valentina Furian dwells on the mechanisms of power that shape society, particularly on the process of human and animal ‘domestication’ as an essential means of control of any living group. The aesthetic-visual element that recurs in all her works is the bestial intensity of the portrayed subjects, which visually powerful confront the viewer. But why is it that at the sight of such savage and primitive depictions, we feel so uneasy and disturbed? Perhaps because these broken creatures are symbols of a lost freedom that bring to the surface the bond between man and Nature, between impulse and control. In addition to this, among the works in Valentina Furian’s exhibition there is a continuous connection to the night, both in the red jellies used in the video footage and in the “sleepwalking” drawings. Night darkness represents the unknown; to night and darkness our most animal instincts react with circumspection and alertness. An alternate dimension – where time is dilated and suspended and where visible and invisible overlap – to which we are not yet fully domesticated.
Valentina Furian + Alessandro Carano, installation view, 2025, ph. credits Michela Pedranti, courtesy UNA / CASTIGLIONI
Simultaneously, Alessandro Carano develops a practice that reflects the essential truth of painting, breaking away from technical customs and traditions to probe the intense and profound meaning of the painterly gesture. He seeks to deconstruct the traditional idea of painting as a practice subject to rigid and precise technical dictates. The artist experiments with alternative modes of “painting,” which he translates into highly textural and three-dimensional results through the use of non-conventional materials and supports. With these premises, the work carries with it an expansive vision of painting that is thus conveyed by the various combinations of forms, materials, traces and colors. This conceptual repositioning finds evidence in his painted burlap canvases, in which he enhances the texture and structure of the fabric; in this way, any pattern or subject is already inherent in the physical characteristics of the weave.
Alessandro Carano, “Stupidcupid”, 2025, acrilico su iuta, ø 38 cm, courtesy l’artista e CASTIGLIONI, ph. credits Michela Pedranti; Alessandro Carano, “I made my way into the night”, 2025, acrilico e grafite su carta telata, 70 x 50 cm, courtesy l’artista e CASTIGLIONI, ph. credits Michela Pedranti
It follows, then, that the focus is no longer on the subject portrayed, but on the contrary on the raw material that distinguishes the painting. The canvases and colors are not mere supports for the images, but constitute themselves as the protagonists of the work. Inspired by the practice of quercetti – children’s games that assemble small pixels of colored plastic on a surface – his works look like puzzles of color dots that emerge from a dimension to transform into pictorial compositions. Thus in addition to diverting the focus away from the subject, Alessandro Carano’s work brings to life a painting that is made from the union of individual elements. His work thus invites a careful and open vision, leading the viewer to discover the forms hidden in the surfaces.
Info:
Valentina Furian + Alessandro Carano
04/03 – 22/03/2025
UNA|CASTIGLIONI
Via Lazzaro Palazzi, 3, Milano
UNA
Irene Follador (Venice, 1997) is an emerging critic and curator. She graduated first in Art History at Ca’ Foscari University in Venice, and then she obtained a master’s degree at NABA – Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti in Milan. She has been collaborating with Juliet Art Magazine for a long time and, at the same time, she carries out her independent curatorial practice; her research and interest mainly tends towards works of moving images and new Media within the contemporary art system.
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