Informed by her training in the fields of music, visual art and cinema, the practice of Marinella Senatore (*1977, Cava de’ Tirreni, Italy; lives and works in Rome) is rooted in the intersection between history, culture and social structures. Senatore’s work actively rethinks, and also reverses, the authority and authorship of the artist and, in turn, the role of the audience as passive receiver. Such an artistic position generates works of art whose language – visual but not only –appropriates vernacular forms of collective and performative social expressions, such as parades, marches and protests, and continually draws links to “high disciplines” like theater, dance and music. In doing so, the artist also appropriates, and playfully twists, their apparatuses and policies, fostering a positive critique of the political nature of collective practices and the fundamental role played by leisure time – versus labor time – within modern and contemporary society.

Senatore’s solo exhibition at CCA Tel Aviv-Yafo, her first solo presentation in Israel and in the region, will include four elements that juxtapose existing works with new productions: a new iteration of the School of Narrative Dance (SOND), which brings together different communities and individuals in a festive event in which choreography and improvisation, togetherness and alterity, professionals and amateurs all ‘blend’ together (this iteration joins other SOND iterations presented in more than 30 cities in Europe, Africa, North and South America and Asia); a new set of banners – part of an ongoing body of work reinterpreting those used by different groups and associations in Italy to represent themselves in local parades – each of them produced for the first time locally by a community of makers including Kuchinate, an African refugee women’s collective, students of the Department of Textile Design at Shenkar College of Engineering, Design and Art and Palestinian artist Rawan Jabarin; a new series of collages created during a masterclass with students and graduates of the MFA at Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Jerusalem held at the Center; and a text-light work featuring the phrase A Blend of Common Humanity (2022), which is part of a large body of conceptual works inspired by Southern Italian traditional luminaries.

Presented in the Ground Floor Gallery and in the Marc Schimmel Multipurpose Gallery, the exhibition will feature the four elements as cardinal points of Senatore’s practice, alongside archival materials, video documentation and educational activities. For the first time in Israel, it will allow the possibility of grasping the scope of the artist’s multifaceted practice. Also within this framework, different facets of Israel’s society will emerge and find a presence in the exhibition, thereby embodying the “blend of common humanity” that is both the title of her text-light work and of the entire exhibition. Last but not least, this project will present immaterial and performative works by Senatore together with her object-based works, creating a cohesive statement about self-empowerment and expression which stand as pillars of Senatore’s practice.

“Marinella Senatore: A Blend of Common Humanity,” is curated by Nicola Trezzi, CCA Tel Aviv-Yafo’s Director and Curator.

The project is supported by the Italian Council (12th edition, 2023), the program aimed at supporting Italian contemporary art in the world promoted by the Directorate-General for Contemporary Creativity within the Italian Ministry of Culture. The exhibition received the Rywkind Ben Zour Grant for Art, Education and Community. Additional support is provided by Istituto Italiano di Cultura Tel Aviv. Hospitality provided by Outset Contemporary Art Fund. Special thanks to Mazzoleni, London – Torino.

Marinella Senatore

A Blend of Common Humanity, 2022

LED bulbs and LED flex on a wooden structure, Installation view at Palais de Tokyo, Paris

Courtesy of the artist, Palais de Tokyo, Paris and Mazzoleni, London – Torino

Photo: Aureėlien Mole