Significantly smaller than Prada’s 19,000-square-meter main space in Largo Isarco, but conveniently located in the heart of Milan, Osservatorio (“Observatory”) will occupy a two-storey, 800-square-meter space which will bring contemporary art to the city’s center with a mission: to explore the most recent trends in contemporary photography and develop a discussion about the medium itself and its relationship with other artistic forms — hence the name, which stresses precisely this desire to carry out detailed research into the medium’s history.
Osservatorio’s inaugural exhibition, titled “Give Me Yesterday” and curated by Francesco Zanot, will feature works by 14 Italian and international artists: Melanie Bonajo, Kenta Cobayashi, Tomé Duarte, Irene Fenara, Lebohang Kganye, Vendula Knopova, Leigh Ledare, Wen Ling, Ryan McGinley, Izumi Miyazaki, Joanna Piotrowska, Greg Reynolds, Antonio Rovaldi and Maurice Van Es. “Give Me Yesterday” will focus on the use of photography as a “personal diary”, covering works created between the 2000s and today. Opening December 21, “Give Me Yesterday” will run until March 21, 2017.