Milano: Inaugurated “Respiro”, the eco-sustainable mural by artist Gianluca Patti

It was inaugurated at Cittadella degli Archivi the mural “Respiro”, created by the artist Gianluca Patti with eco-sustainable paints. An intervention that combines art and sustainability and aims to transform the urban space into a manifesto of environmental awareness.

The paints used, patented by REair, thanks to a special latest generation nanotechnology, they are capable of naturally breaking down the main pollutants present in the air and thus restoring clean air.

“Respiro” was inaugurated in the very place that inspired the work, Cittadella degli Archivi, where the author was able to immerse himself in reading newspaper articles that already a century ago placed at the center the theme of rethinking urban spaces in the name of green areas.

“The extraordinary work of revitalizing the walls of Cittadella degli Archivi continues – declares the councilor for Civic Services, Neighborhoods and Participation Gaia Romani -. I thank the artist Gianluca Patti for having donated to the city of Milano this mural, which has a double value. On the one hand it contributes to culturally enriching this place and on the other it expresses attention to environmental sensitivity. An important combination, the result of the collaboration between the Administration and individual citizens, which tells of the commitment of this city to the quality of the air and the care for the beauty of urban spaces".

The mural aims to act as an invitation to become aware of the environmental issue, a real “call to action” addressed to citizens and institutions. It is the artist's own voice that speaks to us through color, forcefully stating: "Let's go back to spending quality time outdoors; let's go back to breathing clean air, to moving, to socializing; let's go back to reclaiming those spaces that belong to us and that do not necessarily have to be devoured by concrete". From here it passes Patti's choice to use photocatalytic paints, which exploit a nanotechnology capable of naturally breaking down the main pollutants present in the air for an equivalent of five new trees planted.

This is a personal and at the same time universal work: on the one hand, the use of splashes of colour echoes the runs and games in the park, the scents of spring and the bright and vivid colours of the Lombard autumn; on the other hand, the artist addresses the new generations, telling them about what has been and what could become.

The work, a donation from Studio Bastianelli&Calloni to the Municipality of Milano, thus becomes an invitation to stop and become aware of the state of the art and at the same time not to stop looking beyond the architectural limit of the wall, to cross it and go deeper, to not be afraid to dream of a different future. To act as a bridge between one dimension and another, one symbol above all: that of the wall. Precisely this becomes a central element, as well as a new surface to experiment with.

“My generation grew up and faced the Berlin Wall and what it meant for all of us. I look around and see my city full of murals and I think that ultimately they are many stories that tell the life of all of us. Now it's my turn to do it! To leave my mark in such an important place as the Cittadella degli Archivi, a magical place that tells the story of the city by guarding documents that date back to 1800” – declares the artist in the curatorial text written by Giorgia Ligasacchi and Ester Candido and hosted in the catalogue that will soon be published.

Gianluca Patti

Born in 1977 in Monza, where he currently lives and works. His research focuses on study of color and matter as tools for narrating personal experiences and the temporal dimension. His self-taught study of art history played a fundamental role in the evolution of his artistic research:At the beginning of his career he became passionate about the pictorial work of great artists such as Pollock, Vedova and Basquiat, studying their chromatic balance and seeking his own unique approach to colour, as part of a personal and constantly evolving research.

He is then attracted by the artistic currents of Arte Povera and the Readymade approach, fascinated by decontextualization and the new life attributed to objects of common use. He thus begins to study the materials most evocative of his own experience, represented, given his education and family context linked to the construction sector, by building materials, using them however as elements of construction of his artistic process.

The result is layered works in which cement products, resins, nets and pigments become metaphors of sedimented memories and traces of the past. Gianluca Patti's work has been exhibited in numerous solo and group shows, and has become part of important contemporary art collections.

The artist's transversal approach has also led him to collaborate on the creation of scenography in the advertising and interior design sectors and to be selected for art and business projects.

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