Contemporary Cluster #05 - Tadao Cern, Okiiko & Blood Concept

On the 25^th of November 2017, Contemporary Cluster will start a new season at its new location of Palazzo Cavallerini Lazzaroni, in Via dei Barbieri 7.
Contemporary Cluster #05 will exhibit the artworks by Tadao Cern together with the accessories and jewelries designed by Okiiko and the fragrances of Blood Concept, for a unique perceptive experience.
On this occasion, the presentation of the magazine Flewid, created by Emi Marchionni and distributed by Pineapple Media Limited, will take place.
Sebastien Bromberger will enrich/entertain with an accurate musical selection during the event.
 
For the opening of its new space in Via dei Barbieri, Contemporary Cluster presents, for the first time in Italy, Tadao Cern’s solo show. Cern (Vilnius 1983) is a young artist who has exposed worldwide, with solo exhibitions and group shows in both Europe and the US: among others, Revealing the Truth at Saatchi Gallery in London, Comfort Zone at SF Camerawork Gallery of San Francisco, Hanging Paintings at Portal in New York, as well as solo shows at Ingo Seufert Gallery in Munich and at nhow Gallery in Berlin, are worthy of mention.
 
For its first Italian solo show Tadao Cern will display a group of new works exclusively realized for Contemporary Cluster from the series Hanging Paintings (2017) and Chromatic Aberration (since 2016).
The Hanging Paintings (2017) are a series of objects-structures-sculptures made of metal and dyed wool, originating from the suggestions/stimuli of childhood memories. These kinds of structures articulate the space with their regular and geometrical construction and with their hung drapes, which emulate both paintings and garments.
At the same time, minimalism and reduction also characterize the artworks from the series Chromatic Aberration (since 2016), oils on canvas that develop a reflection on perceptions and optics: on one hand, architecture, on the other photography inspired these works, which are situated between these two disciplines and expressive modes. The image is suspended between illusion and geometric construction.  Abstraction and perceptual illusion are the primary elements of the procedural investigation of Tadao Cern. The artist, who graduated in architecture at the University of Vilnius and is interested in photography, painting and sculpture, pays attention to a creative process that wants to retrain ordinary aspects through an attempt of reduction and abstraction.  In this way, the artistic gesture brings to life the suggestions of the memory and an ongoing experimentation.
 
The show will promote, together with the artworks realized by Tadao Cern, a series of accessories, jewelleries and fragrances realized by Okiiko and Blood Concept, and inspired by Cern’s exposed works. With the interaction of different creative minds, a space in which the dialogue between artwork, jewellery and perfumery will rise and express the discursive potential of contemporaneity within its different aspects.
Okiiko, brand born from the ideas of the graphic designer Laura Tulaite and the architect Eivaras Rastauskas, will present an exclusive series of jewels inspired by the minimal and essential constructions by Tadao Cern; Giovanni Castelli’s and Antonio Zuddas’s Blood Concept, at the same time, will steer scent design through a redefinition of perfumery with an identity statement that travels around olfactory perceptions and sensual memories. 

Contemporary Cluster #05 feat. Tadao Cern, Okiiko & Blood Concept wants to investigatethe interactions among different sectors through a sensory journey among the senses, with the possibility to trace a crossmedial continuity between visual art, jewellery design and olfactory design. 

Born in 1983 in Lithuania, Tadao Cern (Tadas Cerniauskas) graduated in architecture at the Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, with a bachelor and a master degree. After a career as an architect, in 2010 Tadao decided to devote his entire career to photography and contemporary art. He began with an extreme series of windswept portraits called Blow Job, a new interpretation of Van Gogh's self-portrait titled Revealing the Truth and, eventually, Comfort Zone, a documentary photo project of beach sunbathers.
The viral success of these projects, which won numerous photo awards, led to exhibitions across the world and opened opportunities for the artist to create campaigns for many high brands including Samsung, New Yorker, BMW, Chupa Chups. In 2016, Tadao decided to switch to a more conceptual form of artistic expression with his newly created projects Black Balloons, Chromatic Aberrations, Adobe Acrobat.
He lives and works in Vilnius, Lithuania.
 
Okiiko, established in Kaunas (Lithuania), is a brand of contemporary wearable accessories, created by the graphic designer Laura Tulaite, and the architect Eivaras Rastauskas. Starting from architecture and graphic design for visual branding, adverts, magazines and product packaging, since 2008 Okiiko has worked on jewelry and product design. From 2012 the company is fully concentrated on jewelry and accessories.
Okiiko is inspired by simple ideas, iconic shapes, unexpected materials, typology and colors, concerning the relation between culture vs nature. Okiiko stands between art, design, fashion and jewelry.
 
Giovanni Castelli, born in Bologna, got fast into the fashion system as a designer, with its edgy knitwear brand Kevin. As he turned 35, he shifted to the world of selective perfumery and started creating fine scents with his brand Acqua di Stresa.
Antonio Zuddas, born in Sardinia, but based in Milan, has a past in advertising, and a present in P.R and journalism. His versatility comes from his passions: fashion and indie rock. The partnership with Giovanni Castelli provided the sparkle for the creation of Blood Concept, and for many synergistic creative works.

Flewid is a series of books both on fashion and art, with a great visual impact and a precious showcase on trends in contemporary culture about the themes regarding the  fluidity of the genres.Beside the collaborations with important Italian authors (for example shootings realized by Angelo Cricchi and contributions of Mustafa Sabbagh and Carmine Amoroso), emerging talents (such as Cecile de Montparnasse, Giulio Cascini, Mia Murgese Mastroianni) contributed in the fields of fashion, cinema, design and art. They explore the modern idea of ​​living without generations, without barriers, without intellectual and psychological fences.

Sebastien Bromberger is the name behind the French label Modelisme based in Marseille, launched in 2001.
Dj and producer for more than 20 years, Sebastien is comfortable with house grooves and techno beats;
he likes to develop varied and subtle vibes sets, seeking connivance with the audience. His universe goes from Indie Nu Disco to Deep Techno, with House Music and Dub sonorities. Sebastien played across France & Europe, in London, Berlin, Hambourg, Cologne, Rome, Paris, Barcelona, Bruxelles, among others.

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