Updated: Dec 16, 2023
New Orleans Flowers Legacy Artworks by Yuri Catania for the Sister Cities New Orleans & Ascona Switzerland
Catania has just completed his first session of the artist residency in New Orleans, Louisiana, for the photographic project JAZZ OFF THE WALL for JazzAscona. His intense work period, closely interacting with some of the most prominent musicians and artists in the global jazz scene, led him to create a new series of surrealist paintings through his photography and collage titled: New Orleans Flowers Legacy Artworks by Yuri Catania for the Sister Cities New Orleans & Ascona Switzerland.
The works, bursting with bright colors, characters, and tropical flowers, represent the unique culture of New Orleans. This culture is a blend of values and traditions, from the royal French influence to the vibrant Creole culture and ancient African traditions. This multiethnic experience has sparked Catania's imagination towards surreal worlds where beauty, honor, and the values of traditions stand out strongly, defending a city that rejects conformity in favor of preserving and passing down its popular traditions through parades, costumes, music, and gospel.
Art Will Save the World!
LVGAXY ASTRO BEE
Site Specific Mixed Media Art by Yuri Catania, 2m x 2m
Villa Ciani Lugano Switzerland
A three-dimensional moon, 2 meters in diameter, rotating on its axis, is Yuri Catania's first mixed-media sculpture made from iron, paper, and mirror, designed as a site-specific piece to harmonize with one of Villa Ciani's rooms.
The interactive artwork is crafted using the paste-up technique on iron and features three subjects. Side B showcases a photographic image of the "Dark Side of the Moon," which is augmented with virtual reality. Side A, the primary piece, is obscured by a large gold-mirrored hexagon as a tribute to the James Webb Space Telescope. This hexagon consists of 169 elements that reflect the twin sculpture on the front. The tiles are teeming with countless white paper bees covering the moon on both twin versions.
LVGAXY ASTRO BEE has been donated to the City of Lugano as a symbol of the dialogue between man, technology, and nature and emphasizes the importance of biodiversity through bees.
Each of the individual hexagons is a unique piece signed by the artist, collectible by the community along with a twin version digitized as an NFT on the MY LUGA blockchain. Purchasing each hexagon grants membership to an exclusive club of 169 owners who will decide how to use the accumulated funds for activities and projects in Lugano. As the hexagons are purchased, the main artwork reveals an astronaut adorned with dahlias and bees, and the reflection in his helmet mirrors the painting in the exhibition room.
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Updated: Nov 1, 2023
LVGA/XY ASTRO FLOWERS is a street artwork conceived by Yuri Catania, set to debut at the NFT Festival in Lugano from August 30 to September 10, 2023, made possible with the support of Lugano Living Lab. Catania's work aims to juxtapose the provocative interplay of nature and technology. With the backdrop of NFT Fest at Villa Ciani, he delves into pivotal themes of the moment: WEB 3.0, Blockchain's role in art, cryptocurrencies, the metaverse, and more. Catania seeks to harmonize these concepts with the breathtaking natural beauty of Parco Ciani. The project unfolds through nighttime photographs of plants and flowers from the park, captured specifically by Catania. These serve as the setting for his astronauts, symbolizing the modern-day heroes tasked with steering humanity through space via technology and science. Their mission: to ensure the future of life on our planet through a harmonious interplay with nature."
Join Yuri Catania, subscribe your attendance at Lugano Living Lab
"As a memento of your participation, you will receive a Non-Fungible Token (NFT) featuring a timelapse video of the installation of the LVGA/XY ASTRO FLOWERS piece."
Support Lugano's green area:
For every ephemeral flower affixed to the wall, the City will plant a real flower in a new green space being developed in town, dedicated to this artwork.