Istanbular
Photographer Alessandro Loschiavo
Art Direction Samantha Acciuffi
Text Christian Sarti
thanks to:
Spazio Ausonio – Milano
Aliantedizioni – Milano
Essentiality, synthesis and lightness are the fir st adjectives that come to mind as I observe the photographs
by Alessandro Loschiavo selected for the istanbular show.
An irresolute look at a marvellous city, yet focusing on details.
Often it is a case of unrepeatable moments, such as “Pergola shadows in the Beyoglu area”.
They seem to have been shot with a “reserved” approach (like someone observing you from afar,
not coming too close) because of a sense of awe.
An extreme search for plays, linearity and geometry in the portrayals.
The continuity and repetition as in the “3 Small Domes from the courtyard of the Blue Mosque”,
the extension toward infinity as in the patter ns of the “Wall in the Hall of Fountains in the Topkapi Palace
Harem”.
The images make us reflect on why we do not stop longer to look, because we miss many details of what
is around us.
Those who take the opportunity to see the photos of Alessandro’s journeys around the world know that
his is a well recognisable language, which can be somewhat mesmerizing.
Christian Sarti
SPAZIO AUSONIO, Milan
Aliantedizioni* is celebrating its 15th anniversary with an exhibition dedicated to the city of Istanbul.
A source of inspiration for many artists, poets and writers of romances, the Turkish metropolis never ceases to fascinate
visitors from around the world, thanks in no small part to its complex architecture and hypnotic Islamic decoration.
Indeed the thousand mosques, the Topkapi Palace and the Serraglio, Sultanahmet, Bazar and Beyoglu zones were the
stimuli for some photo shoots assembled by Alessandro Loschiavo in 2012, and for their recent post-production and
digital art by Samantha Acciuffi. This gave rise to a collection of 27 evocative images, the result of a journey of discovery
through the city streets and that, in some cases, almost become some 2-dimensional textures. The images, with more
or less explicit references to both the ancient and modern city, have now been gathered into a new publication,
a pocket-sized illustrated notebook that combines each portrayal with a blank page for one’s own observations or
sketches. So, a first AlianteNotebook dedicated to Istanbul that seeks to be a travel companion and record of memories
and sensations. The book is printed on recycled paper and published in a limited series of 999 issues.
The show, with brief introductory remarks by Christian Sarti, trend-setter and keen observer of Design and
Photography, will plan for the matching of the photos with some articles from the Aliantedizioni collection designed
by Alessandro Loschiavo. These are objects that express a hint of influence from forms originating in Middle-eastern
countries. References only just perceivable and in any case filtered via a contemporary conceptions of interiors.
References above all to the seductiveness of the three-dimensional forms rather than to the typical decoration attitudes
in the Eastern Mediterranean regions. Items in the show will include:
Searamik: an installation composed of dozens of Samoa plates arranged on the ground close to one another so as
to form a ‘carpet’ of equal enamelled ceramic discs. A mixture of reflections and shades: from deep blue through
to white via an intermediate hue, turquoise, typical of Turkish/Islamic wall decorations.
Megafunghi: a series of floor vases that look like giant transparent artificial mushrooms. Made by hand-working hot
borosilicate glass, each of them turns out differently and are composed of a base on which you can slot in three kinds
of container in order to accommodate various botanical species.
*Established in Friuli in 1998, Aliantedizioni is a workshop for ideas in the world of Design. Ideas that address precise
functional requisites but which are also the results of a constant search for synthesis of form, lightness, and to express
a concept of seductive modernity. Propositions that over time have resulted in a collection of furnishing accessories
produced in limited editions by third party suppliers for a sophisticated clientele in various parts of the world.
Following its first public presentation in 1999 at Milan’s SaloneSatellite show, Aliantedizioni has constantly been invited
to provide articles for exhibitions and events in international galleries and museums, and for review in hundreds
of publications. Items in the collection have won the Good Design Award three times and one has been entered into
the permanent collection at the Triennale Design Museum in Milan. With its operations transferred to Milan in 2002,
Aliantedizioni recently also began to engage in the organization of research opportunities such as the “Musei di Carta”
touring show, also accommodated in 2013 at the National Etruscan Museum of Villa Giulia in Rome.
aliantedizioni – via g. regaldi, 22 – 20161 milano italia
t. +39 338 26 84 664 – f. +39 02 66 200 150
www.aliantedizioni.it – info@aliantedizioni.it