The works presented in the new exhibition at Tornabuoni Art Paris, Ceci n’est pas une idée, aim to highlight through images, the endless possibility of representation that links to this title and through the absence of mentioned sources contextually establishes a presence.

This expression Ceci n’est pas une idée, literally translated into “This is not an idea”, constitutes the thematic pivot around which the logical sense of the entire performance revolves. The title is borrowed from an homonymous work by Emanuele Becheri that prompts a variety of inputs to be decoded and immediately recalls the image of the famous painting Ceci n’est pas une pipe (1828-29) by Belgian surrealist René Magritte. Magritte’s canvas is a multi-level reflection on the depths of language in which the image of the pipe is simultaneously denied by the caption.

Accordingly the caption contradicts the criteria of equivalence between similarity and affirmation: it opens new possible interpretations and crucially shows that the painted pipe is just the representation of a tangible object that has nothing to do with it.

From this suggestion - Ceci n’est pas une idée, as a metaphorical quote and a paraphrase - arises the need to reflect on the concept of quotation and its possible or at least probable variations. The heterogeneous works of the exhibition all go in this direction: each artist within his/her own research makes use of quotations (whether voluntary or involuntary, explicit or implicit, complete or incomplete, direct or indirect) to generate “other” meanings. Eventually the quotation becomes a tool of investigation and interrogation to create new linguistic models able to renew the creative process.

The Arts have always looked at themselves to the extent that history - quoting Giambattista Vico - is a continuous succession of courses and re-courses, an act of looking that we cannot ignore. Therefore the artwork is no longer limited to the performer’s intentions, but gains an autonomy able to generate a universe where the forms move, interpret and metamorphosize themselves.

The exhibition Ceci n’est pas une idée presents a rich selection of artworks that highlight the different artistic practices that take part in this collective display, and that are the fruit of past research by numerous artists. Mario Ceroli and Valerio Adami quote Greek art, Mimmo Rotella and Franco Ionda convene cinema icons where as Giuseppe Chiari and Nam June Paik refer to different forms of cultural and artistic expression such as the performance and music. The gallery has the pleasure of presenting an installation by Braco Dimitrijevic who has created from Tornabuoni Art’s collection a new post-historical triptych.

With :  Arman / Enrico Baj / Emanuele Becheri / Vanessa Beecroft / Alighiero Boetti / Maurizio Cattelan / Mario Ceroli / Giuseppe Chiari / Gino De Dominicis / Braco Dimitrijevic / Tano Festa / Laurent Grasso / Nam June Paik / Francesca Pasquali / Omar Ronda / Mimmo Rotella / Daniel Spoerri