Michael Stipe. I have lost and I have been lost but for now I’m flying high

From December 12 2023 to March 16 2024, Fondazione ICA Milano presents the large solo exhibition “I have lost and I have been lost but for now I’m flying high” by multifaceted visual artist and iconic leader of the band R.E.M. Michael Stipe (USA, 1960).

Analyzed through a wide range of expressive languages ranging from photographs to bookcovers, from ceramics to sculptures and audio works, a study of portraiture represents the core of the exhibition project, curated by Alberto Salvadori and conceived especially for the occasion. A selection of previously unseen works tracing a path in Michael Stipe's artistic production are on display at Fondazione ICA Milano, offering an original reflection that interweaves concepts of homage and vulnerability.

The title of the exhibition evokes a statement by the artist who identifies the concept of vulnerability as a potent driving force. Taking as a starting point the chaotic dimension that connotes the contemporary, vulnerability becomes for Stipe something to be welcomed, cherished and employed as a tool to find new ways forward. The power inherent in vulnerability emerges in the exhibition from the reading and interpretation of Max Ehrmann's poem Desiderata (1927), in which the reader is invited to create, shape, and invent a new calm, derived from the acceptance of our fragility and from the constant search for one's own dimension of serenity.

“Vulnerability emerges as a ‘superstrength’ in this dynamic. It’s a map that describes the difficulties of our present, while highlighting new opportunities and a renewed understanding of our importance—not only to ourselves, but also to those around us, to our communities, to our world. In this moment I choose to focus on the most precious commodity beyond time, which is the brilliance, beauty and playfulness of life. I have lost and I have been lost, but for now I’m flying high” explains the artist in an intimate and generous interview with the curator published in the booklet of the show.

The exhibition path conceived for Fondazione ICA Milano offers a recognition of Stipe's creative universe, defining it as a whole, large self-portrait composed of portraits. The sculptures on display are a tribute to artists who informed Stipe's vision, including Constantin Brancusi, Bruce Nauman, Marisa Merz, and a Roman copy of an ancient Greek sculpture. Each work filters an impression of the transitional moment in which we find ourselves taking into account ways of formal construction and analog representation - particularly evident in the handmade sculptures - as well as an entirely digital path of creation, present through industrially produced objects.

Stipe draws from daily life his repertoire of inspiration, embodied in a variety of possible mediums including photographic portraits, sculptures in plaster and india ink, plastic, and concrete, bookmaking, and audio/video performance. In his quest as a visual artist, the totality of expression is his range, and an instinctual exploration of different mediums his creative dimension.

The ability and willingness of the artist as a living being who reflects on life and existence play a pivotal role in Stipe’s work, accompanying the visitors in a deeply moving and empathic experience, while inviting them to become aware of one’s own vulnerability in order to grasp the thousand possible paths for a better future.

The exhibition is accompanied by a publication by Damiani Books and produced in collaboration with Fondazione ICA Milano. Titled Even the birds gave pause, the volume represents the fourth photographic book by Michael Stipe, while presenting a series of works-in-progress that continue the exploration of contemporary portraiture provided by the show.

We thank Banca Intesa Sanpaolo, the official sponsor of the Foundation, for supporting the programming and activities of ICA Milan.

Michael Stipe, American, born 1960, is an artist, producer and singer/songwriter.  He fronted the band R.E.M. for 31 years, selling over 100 million records and touring the world.  As film producer he made over 25 feature films, including Spike Jonze's Being John Malkovich, Jim McKay’s En El Septimo Dia, Chris Smith’s American Movie, and Todd Haynes' Velvet Goldmine. For the past decade his personal focus has been cross-medium work, incorporating video, soundscape, sculpture, and photographic and digital imagery.  Recent photobooks include Volume 1 (with Jonathan Berger, 2018), Our Interference Times: A Visual Record (with Douglas Coupland, 2019) and a third volume of portraits (2021) all released through Damiani out of Bologna, Italy.  Michael lives in New York City and Berlin.  
 
Opening
Tuesday, December 12 2023, 6-9 pm from 6 to 9 by reservation via DICE.FM
Reservations are open from November 13 2023 at the following link, limited capacity: https://link.dice.fm/Uc92792cf623

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