can’t let go of it. to live is to drive. to have it function
smooth, flawless. to rise with morning and have it start
i pray to the mechanic for heat again and air conditioning
when i meet people i used to know i’m glad to see them until
i remember what i’m driving and am afraid they’ll go outside
and see me climb into that struggle buggy and laugh deep long loud

i’ve become very proficient at keeping my car running. i
visit service stations and repair shops often which is why
i haven’t a coat to wear or nice clothes or enough money each
month to pay the rent. i don’t like my car to be dirty. i spend
saturday mornings scrubbing it down. i’ve promised it a new bumper
and a paint job. luckily this year i was able to pay registration

i dream that my car is transformed into a stylish
convertible and i’m riding along happily beneath sun glasses
the desert wind kissing my face my man beside me. we smile
we are very beautiful. sometimes the dreams become nightmares
i’m careening into an intersection the kids in the back seat scream
“mama!” i mash down on the brake. the pedal goes to the floor

Wanda Coleman, “I Live for My Car”

Imperfect Paradise
A group exhibition by Los Angeles artists
March 9 – May 6, 2023

Sitting on the rim of the Pacific and embraced by mountains, deserts and the ocean, the sunny, unhurried, and sprawling city of Los Angeles is distinctive for its proximity to Latin America and the Pacific Asia, and its blending the urban with nature and wilderness. The multicultural and polyglot metropolis’ history and landscape have been shaped by adventurers, dreamers, immigrants, and activists.

Returning to Venice after having spent almost eight years immersed in the Los Angeles art community, Barbati hopes to extend the artists’ conversations from Los Angeles to Europe, offering a snapshot of their current practices that are informed by the local conditions yet inseparable from the global context. No theme or medium is predetermined, the group show brings together artists from different generations and disciplines, allowing their works to speak to how they explore a space of hybridity or contradiction and engage with the realities of both Los Angeles and the world at large.

The exhibition is also very personal, because at the heart of it is Michele Barbati’s own interpretation of his experience in the city of Los Angeles and his relationship with its artists.

The exhibition runs through May 6, 2023.

Imperfect Paradise
9 Marzo – 6 Maggio 2023

Affacciata sul Pacifico e abbracciata da montagne, deserti e oceano, la soleggiata, tranquilla e vastissima città di Los Angeles si distingue per la sua prossimità sia all’America Latina che all’Asia del Pacifico, fondendo un ricco contesto urbano con la natura selvaggia circostante. La storia e il paesaggio di questa metropoli multiculturale e poliglotta è stata marcata da avventurieri, sognatori, immigrati e attivisti.

Tornando a Venezia, dopo aver trascorso quasi otto anni immerso nella comunità artistica di Los Angeles, Barbati spera di estendere le conversazioni con artisti da Los Angeles all’Europa, offrendo un’istantanea delle loro pratiche attuali, ispirate dalle condizioni locali ma inseparabili dal contesto globale. Nessun tema o mezzo è predeterminato, questa mostra collettiva riunisce artisti di diverse generazioni e discipline, invitandoli a esprimere con le loro opere l’esplorazione di uno spazio ibrido e contradittorio, interagendo sia con la realtà losangelina che con il mondo.

Imperfect Paradise è un’esposizione molto personale, perché il cuore del progetto è l’interpretazione che Michele Barbati offre della sua esperienza nella città e il suo rapporto con gli artisti di Los Angeles.

La mostra sarà visitabile fino al 6 maggio.