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È stato un fulmine by Valerio Eliogabalo Torrisi @ CELESTE

The Cure 2023/2024

È stato un fulmine

an intervention in public space by Valerio Eliogabalo Torrisi

Curated by Celeste

June 2024

Celeste is pleased to present È stato un fulmine, a program of public postings in the urban space of the city of Teramo, created by artist Valerio Eliogabalo Torrisi. The posters designed by Torrisi feature poetic compositions inspired by the story of Orlando Dello Russo and Bruno Di Febbo, Italy’s longest-standing gay couple. These posters are characterized by brief verses written in uppercase red letters on a white background.

Torrisi’s short lyrical texts evoke a realm of nostalgic and introspective intimacy, amplified by the placement of the words in public spaces, which creates an immediate empathetic connection with the audience. È stato un fulmine serves as a tribute to the historic couple, avoiding a strictly biographical approach to instead focus on the broader issue of the arduous struggle for visibility faced by homosexual couples. Torrisi’s crafted phrases tell stories of resilience and the longing to live life in full view.

Torrisi’s work has previously been showcased as public mural paintings in Milan, New York, Shanghai, and London, commissioned by the fashion house Gucci for the launch of its men’s collection in January 2024.

The posters were displayed throughout the municipality of Teramo for the entire month of June 2024. Posters in the 70×100 cm format were distributed across various areas of the municipality, while those measuring 6×3 m were installed in strategic locations such as Via Po, Via Celommi, Via A. De Gasperi, and the Colleatterrato/Casalena roundabout.

Orlando Dello Russo and Bruno Di Febbo were Italy’s longest-lasting gay couple. They met in 1965 in Frankfurt and lived their lives together in Pineto (TE), fighting alongside the local and national LGBT community.

Valerio Eliogabalo Torrisi (b. 1993, Catania) is a Sicilian artist based in Milan. He studied at the Fine Arts Academies of Catania and Milan (Brera). His recent exhibitions include Gucci Ancora (Milan), Centrale Foto Festival (Fano-Milan), We All Are Poems (Il Lazzaretto, Milan), and Un altro patrimonio (LAVAPIU, Teramo). Torrisi’s works, often autobiographical, serve as tools for the artist to explore his multifaceted identity and as a means to translate his personal and emotional experiences into open narratives suspended between “extreme truth and fiction.”

Produced by Sunistema APS. Project realized with the sponsorship and collaboration of the Municipality of Teramo and with the contribution of the Province of Teramo.

Valerio Eliogabalo Torrisi

È stato un fulmine by Valerio Eliogabalo Torrisi. Exhibition views from LAVAPIU, Teramo 2024 © Celeste.