Thomas Braida, Serena Vestrucci and Riccardo Andujar back at Il Crepaccio by Yigit Turhan

Going to exhibition openings is great for the simple reason that the artists are usually present so you have a chance to meet the minds behind the works and ask a few questions.
I had a crazy schedule last week which is why I couldn't make it to Il Crepaccio for the collective exhibition of Serena Vestrucci, Thomas Braida and Riccardo Andujar yet I had promised myself to go and check it before they changed the window for the next exhibition.
After a coffee and a few pages of 'The Sense of an Ending' by Barnes at my favorite cafe in MIlan, Sissi, I decided to talk to Via Lazzaro Palazzi to see what these three emerging artists had come up with.
With the heat in Milan, 20 minutes of walking felt like a lifetime but when I reached Il Crepaccio I saw that it was worth the sweat. The previous three times I had visited the place, it was always crowded with an artistic / fashion savvy people. This morning? Empty. Apart from the morning people on their way home from the Nearby bakery…
I am sure it must have been quite a hard experience for the curator to create a composition of these three artists, each one different in style than the other. Yet I must admit that it was curated so well that there was a story to watch and think about right inside that small window.

From left to right, the exhibition showcases Riccardo Andujar's eerie sculptures, Thomas Braida's variety of lids (bottle cups, jar lids, etc.) and Serena Vestrucci's works.
The way I saw it was that the curator linked these three artists to the story of a man. Riccardo was depicting different facial gestures of this nonexistent man as Thomas was giving us a glimpse of his imagination and Serena was busy showing us his heartbeats designed firstly on a crumpled paper then in a regular beat on a white canvas.
If you ever read a book on personal branding, you will have seen that they all advice you to collect something and make it 'your thing' so that people recognize you for something. Your collection can be of butterflies, pocket squares, pins, watches, cars and even art. I believe for an art collector, THomas BRaida's cup collection (from a variety of different bottles, jars, etc.) at IL Crepaccio can be quite addictive. Riccardo Andujar's head sculptures are eerie yet mesmerizing. And I was happy to see Serena's rather subtle but still impact full work. Last time she had lots of colorful objects rotating inside IL Crepaccio, remember? The fact that Riccardo didn't exhibit any sketch this time makes me think he is onto projecting something bigger about that aspect, I can't wait to see.
Thanks to Facebook, I did a short interview with these artists exclusively for A Shaded View on Fashion.
Here it is:

1. What's the importance of Crepaccio for your career?
2. How would you define success in the art scene?
3. If your art were to be reduced to one sentence only, what would be the message?

Thomas Braida

1. Il Crepaccio for me was a sort of break, a different point of view, I don't know… Still good, but it felt like I had smelled something new and intoxicating.

2. Success in the art world, if it's real, you have wait a bit to recognize it. It's full of false heroes, who resists is already very good in my opinion.

3. The dirt caresses the colors… I've taken it from an old advertising. It's a little hermetic but I like it.

Thomas Braida at Il Crepaccio

Serena Vestrucci

1. Il Crepaccio is finally a place where you don't get anxious and do as you feel.

2. Recently I was with a person who expressed an essential definition of what success is. I don't think there's a better way to summarize its meaning in these two words: It's a matter of hard, hard work… and success.

3. Think hundred times and cut once.

Serena Vestrucci at Il Crepaccio