Lilibet. The Queen

Monarch of records, sovereign of style, the last true pop icon of our time who has inspired television series, films, songs and works of art, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is the protagonist of the exhibition “Lilibet. The Queen”, promoted from 19 January to 20 February 2023 by Agostino Art Gallery in Milan (Via Solari, 72).

Curated by Cinzia Lampariello Ranzi, the exhibition will be inaugurated on Thursday 19 January at 18.00. On display, a selection of unique and multiple pieces created by some of the protagonists of pop art and international street art: Endless, Marco Lodola, Mr. Brainwash, Raptuz, Jamie Reid, TVboy.

The exhibited works are the result of a research conducted in 2021 and 2022 by the founders of Agostino Art Gallery, Giacomo Christian Giulio Ranzi and Cinzia Lampariello Ranzi, interested in celebrating the strong iconic, political and cultural value of Her Majesty through the language of art and the comparison between works created by artists belonging to different generations and geographical-cultural fields.

The exhibition itinerary includes, among other works, a large canvas by Endless (“Lizzy Vuitton Fragile”), a London-based artist who combines contemporary art and street art. Represented by Cris Contini Contemporary, Endless took part in the 59th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia. In his research, ironic and punctual, the obsessions of contemporary society recur, attracted by luxury brands and celebrities. The Queen shines in a luminous sculpture by Marco Lodola, among whose subjects world icons often recur, from Marilyn Monroe to Mao Tse-tung. The artist, whose works are present in various museum collections, is also known for having created light installations and sets for events and shows. Three ironic and irreverent portraits of His Majesty follow, signed by Mr. Brainwash, currently Thierry Guetta, a French artist known to the general public for the famous film "Exit Through the Giftshop" directed by Banksy, who for over twenty years has been conveying through pop and street art messages of love and freedom. This is followed by “God Save The Queen” by Luigi Maria Muratore, aka Raptuz, an Italian artist born in 1968, born and raised in the Milanese hinterland, one of the founders of the TDK crew and, together with J Ax, of the historic Spaghetti Funk. On the walls and on the canvas, he breaks down shapes and colors through a technique of his own invention, the broken window futurism, which involves the use of sprays, paper tape and scalpels. Jamie Reid (London, 1947) is a British artist, best known for having curated the punk image of the Sex Pistols. Some of the lithographs on display are based on a famous photograph taken by Cecil Beaton of Queen Elizabeth II, described by The Observer's Sean O'Hagan as "the most iconic image of the punk era". Finally, TVboy represents the Queen in punk clothes. Behind him the flag of the United Kingdom is reproduced with graffiti and drips of color, while the words "Punk's not dead" appear on his shirt. Italian artist based in Barcelona, Salvatore Benintende (Palermo, 1980), is an exponent of the NeoPop movement and father of TVboy, his alter ego.

During the vernissage some works dedicated to the Queen by Alberto Petrivelli, Walter Davanzo and Gumm will also be presented to the public. Petrivelli is an artist originally from Orvieto but living in London, who has never exhibited in an Italian gallery. Davanzo (Treviso, 1952) is a painter, photographer, designer and art director who builds a poetic imaginary, between memory, dream and vision. Gumm is the stage name of a Venetian artist who has made his own the lesson of the greatest Pop artists, conveying it in three-dimensionality.... read the rest of the article»