DEPOSITO

Italian Cultural Institute of Los Angeles
1023 Hilgard Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90024

Opening:
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
With an introduction by Eugenio Carmi, special presentation of Rudi Gernreich designs, and a performance by pianist Gloria Campaner.

LAND in collaboration with Corazon del Sol and the Italian Cultural Institute of Los Angeles presented DEPOSITO, an exhibition featuring a selection of work from Galleria del Deposito (1963 – 1969). Serving as an introduction to and coinciding with the Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945 – 1980 exhibition on the Eugenia Butler Gallery presented by LAND and Corazon del Sol entitled Perpetual Conceptual: Echoes of Eugenia Butler, DEPOSITO highlighted the critical connections between Eugenia Butler, as she served as the American representative for Galleria del Deposito, and the influential role Italian artists had on the Los Angeles art scene.

Galleria del Deposito (previously an old coal depot) served as the exhibition space for the Gruppo Cooperativo di Boccadasse, an artist collective founded by Eugenio Carmi and Carlo Fedeli in Genoa. The cooperative consisted of internationally acclaimed artists such as Getulio Alviani, Max Bill, Eugenio Carmi, Lucio Fontana, Jesus Rafael Soto, and Victor Vasarely, among many others, whose common ambition was to create affordable, high-quality, and functional limited edition artwork. Utilizing monthly bulletins and mail-order catalogues (always in Italian and English), the cooperative aimed to reach an international audience to market their multiples (serigraphs, lithographs, and engravings), foulards, trays, ceramics, and jewelry. With an eye toward fashion, Getulio Alviani and Eugenio Carmi collaborated with the iconic fashion designer, Rudi Gernreich, as they created bold geometric patterns for his fabrics. Such collaborations blurred the boundaries between art, fashion, and design, and allowed for a highly creative and productive environment: in just over five years, Galleria del Deposito held thirty-eight exhibitions and produced one hundred and four graphics, twenty-two artist-designed foulards, six artist-designed trays, thirty-six multiples, and artist-designed jewelry.