The aim of the project is to welcome and present to the people of Palermo a group of artists who are already well recognised on the national and international art scenes.  The lack of exhibition space in the city often makes it difficult for artists in Palermo to establish a network of art contacts even on the national level.  With this in mind, and with the wish to open up the city to the contemporary, the Domani, a Palermo programme presents an opportunity to develop new educational paths for bringing the Palermo public towards an understanding of contemporary art. Domani, a Palermois a cycle of five exhibition events that will take place during 2007 and 2008.

For the fifth show, bringing to a close its first cycle of exhibitions, Francesco Pantaleone Gallery is proud to host ‘Palazzina Cinese’ (Chinese Palace), by Flavio Favelli (Florence, 1967).

The title of the exhibition refers to an eighteenth century building located in Palermo’s Favorita park. A genuine architectural jewel, it was created in a recreational, eclectic style for the Bourbon Ferdinand IV, the house is one of the most striking examples of the early nineteenth century Sicilian cultural and architectural renaissance.

Flavio Favelli chose this title for his first individual show in Palermo not only for its clear exotic and aesthetic connotations, but also to seize and reclaim an atmosphere and taste for the orient, which today as then, gives off a definite allure for western culture. With his innate philological ability, Favelli tracks the imagery of this unique place using postcards of the historic Chinese-styled building starting from twentieth century, sequenced as if in an imaginary photo gallery. Artistic reconstruction, handling and assembly, as well as the taste for sinophilia can be seen in a sculpture created by combining an ancient Florio ceramic piece with floral and arabesque motifs, and the famous ‘Amarene Fabbri’ vase, made from faentina (from Faenza, northern Italy) pottery and beautifully decorated in white and blue. The concept of bringing together the two containers in a chest perfectly alludes to the cultural interweaving and overlapping of styles that makes Sicily home to one of the most complete examples of art fusion in the Mediterranean. A large sculpture, created with materials found on-site, it solemnly receives visitors to the exhibition. Favelli has, in addition, created a ‘map cabinet’ displaying old Sicilian maps from the Italian Touring Club, or details from them. In a representation of the Conca d’Oro (An agriculturally-rich area near Palermo), Favelli reveals a dark, often incomprehensible and deliberately distorted vision of the area. A black sea envelops the island, road lines disperse, and tangle, conjuring up an inexistent landscape and the whole work is given a timeless quality by its magnificent vintage frame setting.

Nonetheless, the site-specific installation in the gallery’s entrance was conceived as a necessary passage towards this personal creative universe, dedicated to the city of Palermo.

Flavio Favelli has created numerous permanent installations in both public and private venues. He has taken part in several major exhibitions, including: Villa delle Rose in Bologna (1995), Palazzo delle Papesse in Siena (2000), Museo della Permanente in Milan (2002), Fondazione Sandretto in Turin (2002), the Venice Biennale (2003), the Pecci Museum in Prato (2005) and the Rome Quadrennial (2004 and 2008). He recently inaugurated a permanent installation Sala d’attesa (Waiting room) at the Pantheon in Bologna’s Certosa.