Dan Regan. Don't Delay, Decay

For Milan’s Design Week (April 2017, 4-9) Carola Cometto presents Don’t delay decay, a solo show by artist Dan Regan (1986, Venice, CA). Set up in a decadent 18th century apartment located in Via Vivaio 22, the exhibition recounts the origin of Dan's relatable and human style, deeply rooted in street-culture. The show will include photographs and installations. In addition, Italian design firm HOMMM creates an outdoor installation inspired to Venice aesthetics, showing their Smooth Collection.
Dan grew up in Venice in the early 90 's, when Westside Los Angeles urban beach wasn’t yet the hype-cool neighborhood that it is now. The famous Venice Beach Boardwalk and its boulevards were once known for their high crime rate. Venice was deemed as the ghetto by the sea for its gang related incidents, drug traffic and poverty. Its streets now filled with stretches of high-end retail stores and restaurants, creating unaffordable housing prices and becoming a highly desirable place for families to move to, has caused the very people that built Venice to be pushed out.

Dan's personal archive represents his most authentic and intimate work, an emotional-visual diary: «I was able to recover some of my hard drives with photos from my late teenage years: pre-social media, pre- camera phones. The stuff I found was raw as fuck. It was real. It lived for no purpose just other than to document my surroundings” and “the camera kind of turned me into an anthropologist. I started to photograph my neighborhood: the mom and pop stores, the old cars, the craftsmen homes, and the local people that still remain in Venice. Back then it was all for survival and pride, not for likes». Dan recalls how «most of us didn’t fully understand that our beach city culture was such an influence on the world and that how heavily that had been initiated by those before us. We were just being ourselves, when in actuality our town helped define many corners of culture across so many mediums: the way we dressed, the cars we drove, the music we listened to, the graffiti the dogs we owned, the way we spoke, rode a skateboard or paddled into a wave».

From Dan’s film-based photography, showed here for the first time, stems his "No School" message inspired by his personal journey: Dan is a self-taught artist/photographer/filmmaker/illustrator, a role model for young people showing that chances are out there.

Ultimately, with Don't Delay Decay Dan documents a whole generation, cherishes his friends and family and shows his hope for the future. The show celebrates not only his success as an artist, but as a thoughtful human being. Daniel Regan (www.no-school-la.com), born in 1986 in Venice, California, is a renowned fashion photographer, resident in Los Angeles. In recent years, Dan shot campaigns for brands such as Gucci, Converse, Stussy, Adidas and Opening Ceremony; his storyteller talent is featured in publications such as Vogue, Dazed and I-D magazine. The young photographer who personally witnessed the ascent and transformation of his hometown has become a role model for young kids of the greater Los Angeles area. When he's not busy working around the world, Dan continues to visit the underprivileged and function as a mentor preventing gang affiliation and other behaviors.

Carola Cometto is an Italian/French artist manager and curator who lives and work between Milan, New York and Los Angeles. After studying economics at the Bocconi University of Milan, she got a Master’s degree in Contemporary Art at the Sotheby’s Institute of New York. After several professional experiences, among which Gagosian Gallery in New York and Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, she decides to work at the promotion of emerging artists through dedicated solo shows around the world and access to international, institutional exhibitions. Her multidisciplinary approach allows her to work also as an art director for film, music and fashion projects.

HOMMM for Don’t Delay, Decay: the Italian design producer shows its Smooth Collection that takes on a new concept of ergonomics: the ergonomics of pleasure, embracing the idea of relaxation, opposed to the conventional concept that ties ergonomics of the chair to productivity. Ricardo Antonio, Brazilian designer who collaborated with Oscar Niemeyer, has always conducted his research, which dissociates from globalization and promises to keep alive the local identities. The outdoor terrace of the exhibition, will host an installation dedicated to the artist and the town of Venice, creating a welcoming space in line with the company's philosophy and the collection. In addition, the brand will produce a special one-of edition, a custom chair that Dan will be free to decorate and illustrate. 
Vernissage: April, the 6th 6.30 – 11.30 pm 

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