Le solite scritte is a series of works by Giulio Alvigini presented at OPOS in collaboration with Magazzeno Arte Contemporanea in an exhibition of the same title curated by Andrea Meregalli.

It is paradoxical and anachronistic for Alvigini, who makes communication, especially through social media and predominantly through memes (his is the Instagram account @makeitalianartgreatagain), a powerful medium for making art, to decide to inaugurate his solo exhibition in Milan with an event about which no information was disclosed. Going against the trend is nothing new for the artist; in fact, it is one of his favorite pastimes. The exhibition’s title is a not-so-subtle invitation for the viewer not to have expectations, as on the other side, they will always and only encounter Le solite scritte (The Usual Writings), but it is also an intelligent and ironic omission of guilt by the author. It is no coincidence that the first work greeting visitors at the entrance is a 2×3 meter canvas with the phrase Tutto già visto (Everything Already Seen), a refrain repeated to boredom at every edition of the Biennale or at all the various art fairs that have now saturated the twelve months of the calendar. And if everything is already seen, everything is also already written, as many artists deal daily with words, phrases, lettering, and different fonts. Two significant examples often encountered here in Milan are Marcello Maloberti and Pietro Terzini. But Giulio Alvigini uses his writings as a weapon to dismantle the art system, which he describes as “the most toxic and fascinating social object for me.” He examines it with honesty and disillusionment, focusing his research on the dynamics that characterize it. He is irreverent, provocative, and biting. Everything for him becomes BELLISSIMO (beautiful), a word repeated so frequently at openings that it resonates as a filler phrase. If La pittura ormai A rutt i paL (Painting is now A pin in the ass), and he points it out by writing it on a makeup mirror to read its reflection, then the only thing left is to play Il giro del mondo dell’arte (The Art World Tour), created in collaboration with Bonobolabo, a reinterpretation of the game of goose that traces all the difficulties and pitfalls a young artist faces when dealing with their career. Perhaps it is precisely the dynamics, rules, attitudes, and rigidities of the proponents and users, everything that surrounds the art world, that is potentially a work of art itself. For this reason, È tutta una performance (It’s All a Performance), a site-specific work in block letters that occupies a wall 24 meters long, and we are too the moment we observe it. Alvigini, in fact, is a firm believer that the real work of art in an exhibition or fair, in the end, is the audience. And that’s okay; after all, it is written!

Photos by: Ken Anzai
Postproduction: Jacopo Graziano

Video: Jacopo Graziano

Download the program sheet