#DISCONNECTED Group Exhibition

Hub/Art Exhibition announces the opening of #DISCONNECTED, a group exhibition on September 21, 2024, from 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM at the exhibition space located at Carrer del Dr. Trueta 183 in Barcelona.

This group exhibition is born from an open call inviting all the creative minds to explore the various facets of loneliness in the digital age, stimulating reflection and proposing new perspectives. The exhibition takes place during the 10th edition of Barcelona Gallery Weekend. Furthermore, the exhibition is planned to run during the 15th edition of Manifesta, the nomadic art biennial that took place in Barcelona and its metropolitan area in 2024.

It seems like a paradox: the more connected we are, the more alone we feel. Immersed in a flood of notifications, updates, and likes, constantly seeking virtual approval, we find ourselves isolated in a bubble of “techno social” relationships that cannot replace genuine human contact.

Journalist David Riesman already spoke of a “lonely crowd” in 1950. Today, with more than 5.2 billion users connected to social media, this definition seems more relevant than ever.

The artists in the exhibition, using various media such as painting, video art, photography, and installations, take up this concept, analysing how our hyper connected society has amplified feelings of isolation and loneliness.

Artists, like sensitive barometers, reflect our era’s pervasive loneliness. Many works abstract this feeling, using color and gesture to express the indefinable. The human figure often vanishes, swallowed by an intangible atmosphere that mirrors our lives. Photography emerges as a potent tool, capturing the habits of a society silenced and captivated by screens, even willing to sacrifice for them.

Joanna D’Arc, a cellist and vocalist whose music evokes a profound emotional experience, will grace the opening evening. She sings in a variety of languages, including Old Norse and the invented language of Lisa Gerrard. Her performance will be an invitation to join her on a sonic journey, exploring the vastness of human emotion.

The exhibition runs until October 31. Guided tours and private views will be communicated through Hub/Art’s social media channels.

Artists at DISSCONNECTED

Mariam Belrhlid Aourik

Born in Galicia in 1992, Mariam grew up straddling the worlds of Islam and Galician culture. This delicate balance, particularly in the 1990s, fostered in her a sense of otherness and a deep-seated conflict. Experiences of violence and racism further shaped her perspective, fueling a desire to transform pain into art. Her early works were characterized by somber hues, but over time, her palette evolved into a vibrant explosion of color and texture. Mariam delights in the interplay of contrasts and the unexpected effects created by dragging a spatula across the canvas. Her use of acrylic, with its opaque colors and rapid drying time, mirrors the unpredictable nature oflife itself.

Antonio Bernardo

From Como, Italy, Antonio Bernardo is an artist who creates unique works of art inspired by the reality around us. Starting from images taken from family albums or personal shots, the artist manipulates, superimposes, and reinvents faces, creating new visual identities. His technical mastery, combined with a neorealist vision, gives life to graphic and synthetic works, the result of continuous artistic experimentation. Through his creations, Bernardo investigates himself and the world around him, offering the public an original and profound look at reality. In 2020, he exhibited at Hub/Art Milan in the group exhibition “A proper distance”. In 2022, he was the protagonist of the exhibition “Rosa Alchemico”, miniartextil, at Villa Olmo in Como. In September 2023, he received the ARTE&ARTE Award for the work “La sirena veste” as part of the textile arts exhibition held in Como at San Pietro in Atrio. In the same year, he collaborated again with Hub/Art and participated in an exhibition at the Corals gallery in Milan.

Arnau Casas

Born in Palma de Mallorca in 1990, he has nurtured a lifelong passion for art. His studies in Barcelona, Pilsen, and Prague helped him develop a unique style characterized by the distortion of reality. His work explores the human body as a site of both conflict and liberation. Through vibrant colors and dynamic forms, he dismantles societal constraints and celebrates the fluidity of identity. His art is a testament to the power of human expression, inviting viewers to embrace the unknown and embrace new ways of being. The artist does not seek answers, but invents new ways of being.

 Matteo Cervone

Matteo Cervone (Milan – Italy, 1966) after graduating in Political Science and specialising in Transactional Analysis, worked 25 years in multinational service companies as a behavioural trainer, organisational development project manager and process specialist. His artistic soul remain far from everyday life for many years, while achieving other goals. In 2018, he take the chance to strike out on his own and has been working on Visual Art ever since. His focus is on the expression of relationships with others and with oneself, expressed through inanimate media. Matteo observes the objects that populate the streets, in particular traffic lights, and with a unique and special skill he weaves a dialogue with them. The author explores the deeper meaning of traffic signals, creating a visual experience that invites the audience to reflect on their innermost emotions.

Hannes Egger

The artistic practice of Hannes Egger is linked to an essentially conceptual approach aimed at engaging and interacting with the public. His performances, installations and participatory projects invite people to adopt an unusual attitud or viewpoint, in order to reflect on our surrounding reality and the way we share the spaces we inhabit. His concept of art does not refer to an opus in the most traditional sense, but consists of creating situations of an open and in-progress platform, to see how these situations will develop once the audience participates. Egger often provides some coordinates or instructions to follow, and thus turns the action of the participant into the art work itself.

Luigi Filograno

An artist who has experimented with different expressive techniques throughout his career to meet the need to link his work to contemporary communication
languages. Alongside his two-dimensional works, Filograno has created sculptures and installations in eucalyptus wood, steel and clay with which he
has moulded the natural tree essence. He has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions, including the Venice Biennale 2011, the Contemporary Art Fair in Copenhagen (Art Nordic) 2018. Some of his works are in museums such as Museum Allotropya (Delphi -Greece) and Boston.

Matteo Lencioni

Born in Italy, he lives and works in Barcelona. For him images serve as intermediaries between the abstract realm of ideas and the tangible world. They
function as tools for exchange, fostering a connection between the artist, the artwork, and the viewer. While rooted in individual creativity, artworks possess
the power to evoke emotional responses in audiences who are not directly involved in their creation. This perspective downplays the emphasis on individuality, mysticism, and transcendence often associated with artistic expression, instead focusing on the concrete aesthetic and material qualities of the work itself. After years of exploration, each of his works represents a new experiment, building upon previous creations while also embodying a fresh concept.

Lillylilla

Born Letteria Russo, aka Lillylilla. Despite her formal training in design, Letteria has always harbored a deep passion for painting. Before completing her Master’s degree in Design in Milan, she earned a degree in Art and Jewelry in Rome. Building on this foundation, she co-founded a design studio with her siblings in the following years, collaborating with various fashion houses to create eyewear and jewelry for over two decades. In recent years, Letteria’s inclination towards pictorial art has taken precedence, leading her to participate in private and institutional art calls and exhibitions both in Italy and internationally.

Simona Muzzi

Born in 1962, Simona is a global citizen based in Bologna, Italy. After graduating from Florence University with an architecture degree in 1990, she pursued a career as an architect. A self-taught photographer, Simona has also participated in amateur photography courses. In January 2020, she displayed her previously unpublished works for the first time at Paratissima Bologna. Prior to her artistic exploration of photography, Simona documented the world around her through her lens. Inspired by Helmut Newton, whom she considers a mentor, she began experimenting with self-portraiture in 2015 as a means of artistic expression.

Emanuela Pecchia

Born in Latina in 1990, she is an Italian visual artist who currently lives and works in Barcelona, Spain. Her predominantly abstract works are a sensory exploration of the movements and depths of the sea. Using acrylics and mixed media, the artist captures the fluidity and energy of the waves, creating compositions that vibrate with blue, azure and white tones. Influenced by the beauty of the Mediterranean, she transforms her canvas into an extension of the ocean, inviting the viewer to immerse themselves in a world of calm and depth.

About Hub/Art

Hub/Art Exhibition Ltd, an art consultancy firm led by Greta Zuccali and based in London, provides a wide range of services dedicated to the contemporary art world. From the appreciation of private collections to the creation of tailored marketing strategies, the company offers comprehensive support to collectors, artists, and cultural institutions. Since 2017, Hub/Art Exhibition Ltd has also managed two exhibition spaces, one in Milan and one in Barcelona, where high-level events and art exhibitions are regularly organized.

Opening hours

Vernissage: Saturday 21 September h.17:30-20:30
Open to the public from Monday 23 to Friday 28 September from 15:00 to 19:00
Saturday 28 September, h. 10:30-13:00
From 2 October, the gallery will be open by appointment
Guided tours and private views will be communicated on the Hub/Art Exhibition social channels.

Address

Carrer del Dr. Trueta, 183,
Barcelona, 08005, Spain