Anna Perach. Dis/Enchanted Interiors

curated by Veronica Caciolli and Valentina Gensini

The first institutional solo exhibition in Italy by artist Anna Perach, Dis/Enchanted Interiors, curated by Veronica Caciolli and Valentina Gensini, is produced by MAD Murate Art District and Fondazione MUS.E, in collaboration with the University of Florence.

The exhibition, presented at MAD and the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnology – University Museum System, marks the fourth year of collaboration between the two institutions. The project is conceived both as a retrospective of the artist’s work over the last decade and as a site-specific exhibition investigating themes of colonialism, exoticism, folk traditions, identity, and femininity.

Perach creates environments inhabited by sculptures made using the textile technique known as tufting, often employed in carpet-making. Her wearable sculptures inhabit a liminal space between object and “skin” and are activated through choreographed performances accompanied by sound. The carpet, understood as a domestic symbol that has accompanied the artist’s travels since the beginning of her career, welcomes and triggers a series of reflections on cultural migration.

The curatorial project for this edition focuses on Anna Perach because of the hybrid nature of her identity, which is reflected in her work; because of her fields of interest, which are distinctly anthropological in character; and because of her approach, aimed at deconstructing stereotypes and patriarchal structures, fully reflecting a contemporary sensibility.

For Dis/Enchanted Interiors, the artist also created two new works for the first-floor gallery at MAD. On the opening day, Thursday 14 May at 6:00 pm, visitors witnessed the activation of selected works, performed by choreographer Barbara Carulli together with the three students and performers Margherita Bugli, Claudia Querusti, and Laura Ciani, thanks also to the collaboration of sound artist SADI, Toscana Media Arte, and Centro Culturale Garage P.

Special thanks are extended to ADA Gallery Roma, Richard Saltoun London, Mauro De Iorio, Matteo Novarese, Francesca de’ Medici, Andrea Boghi, Laura and Luigi Giordano, and Paolo Vanoni.

Funded within the framework of the PN Metro Plus e Città Medie Sud 2021–2027 programme, promoted by the European Union, the project enhances the relationship between Cultural Heritage and contemporary production, with particular attention to interdisciplinary practices and the plurality of cultural perspectives. It forms part of the dissemination activities of the project PN Metro MAD Murate Art District: la cultura come driver di ripresa, alongside the first Master in Mediazione Trans-culturale del Patrimonio e del Contemporaneo, coordinated by Valentina Gensini and established by Fondazione MUS.E in collaboration with the Istituto per l’Arte e il Restauro di Palazzo Spinelli.

For further information: info.mad@musefirenze.it