Cristian Chironi (DG 2012) and his colorful Fiat 127 will return to New York for the final stop on his New York Drive performance series, a continuation of the event organized by Magazzino Italian Art on October 12-17 2021. In collaboration with Morton St. Partner’s, Manhattan Stop is an exhibition featuring Chironi’s Special Fiat 127 (Chameleon) along with collages, photographs, sculptures, and video documenting the New York Drive performance, and brand-new works installed by the artist. An opening reception will be held on May 25, 2022 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at Morton Street Partners. RSVP is required and can be made to RSVP@vidoun.com. The exhibition is on view until August 13, 2022.
Through this project, Chironi has set out to explore the relationships Le Corbusier had with different cities via documented drives in a Fiat 127 specifically painted for each location in a series of colors based on the modernist architect’s palette. The drives have taken place in cities such as Bologna, Milan, Marseille, Bolzano, La Chaux-deFonds, and now New York. For Manhattan Stop, Chironi has collaborated with the renowned jazz musician Paolo Fresu on a series of tracks that will play from the Fiat 127’s stereo along with recordings commissioned by Chironi. The recordings were made inside of houses designed by Le Corbusier in 12 countries and in which Chironi resided as part of an ongoing project called My house is a Le Corbusier begun in 2015.
Cristian Chironi’s project was initially inspired by Sardinian artist, Costantino Nivola, with whom Chironi shares a birthplace (the town of Orani). Le Corbusier and Nivola shared a lifelong friendship filled with artistic exchange. Chironi’s car is the same make, model, and year as the one Nivola owned.
Through this exhibition, the artist investigates emotions associated with the experience of gazing out of the window during each of the NY drives, as he travels across urban and rural landscapes, telling collective and personal stories. Manhattan Stop does not represent the end of the New York Drive series, but a new point of origin as Chironi invites an expanded audience to be part of his ongoing exploration, brought together in conversation around concepts pertinent to our present moment. Learn more here.