by Art & Antiques Magazine
Summer 2023
BISBEE, ARIZONA'S contemporary, graffiti, and street art museum, the Artemizia Foundation, is hosting a series of exhibitions this summer in its new gallery space, Gallery 818. Guests can also view major works from international artists in its museum space, which houses an impressive permanent collection.
Viewers will be able to see works by the Italian digital and body artist Sofia Cianciulli (on view June 24-Aug. 6) whose art explores female representation. In her photograph Untitled—Selt-Portrait (2022), Cianciulli uses an imprint of her body in paint and a translucent barrier to create a veiled image of her own form. Later, from Aug. 12-Sept. 24 the gallery will host works by the papercut and animation artist Andrew Benincasa.
Aside from the gallery exhibitions, visitors to the Artemizia can also see works from their permanent museum collection. Which features artists from around the globe.
From Spain, the street art duo PichiAvo creates large-scale installations and murals that merge classical art, Greek and Roman mythology, and graffiti aesthetics. In Orphical Hymn to the Graces (2018), three painted classical female statues are posed casually together against a wildly colorful graffiti background, while pale shadows of color and lettering decorate their bodies.
Another artist who blends graffiti and street art with other forms is the anonymous Canadian artist Stikki Peaches. In their Notorious LBG (2023), a portrait of Ruth Bader Ginsburg is adorned with tattoo-like drawings and graffiti symbols.
The Chinese artist Li Hongbo also has works in the foundation's museum, including the stainless steel sculpture Seasons of the Flower (2021). Hongbo is best known for his works in paper, which reinvent the form to create kinetic
works that can expand and contract; however, he is also a highly skilled metalworker. This piece was first shown in New York at the Eli Klein Gallery in 2021.
The American street artist Caledonia Curry, who goes by Swoon, also has works on
view. Widely recognized as the first woman to gain serious recognition in the male-dominated street art world. Swoon's portraits and drawings can be found on many buildings worldwide as well as within art museums including the Tate Modern and New York's Museum of Modern Art. Her massive wood and block print piece Sonia—Mandala Box (2021) is on view at the Artemizia.
Additional artists in the Artemizia's permanent collection include Shepard Fairey, Ai Weiwei, Annie Leibovitz, Jeff Koons, Blek le Rat, and Lubaina Himid.