David Casini's 'Nirvana' at CAR DRDE Bologna Transforms Brutalist Space with Surreal Microcosms

David Casini (Montevarchi, 1973) presents 'Nirvana' at CAR DRDE gallery in Bologna, a solo exhibition that reimagines the landscape through surreal microcosms. The artist pierces the gallery's small, brutalist space with iron pillars, from which hang glass cases resembling improbable treasure chests. These vitrines contain micromondi with surrealist flavor: photographs, phone screens, newspaper clippings, floor-simulating inlays, and sculptural elements that together create aquariums for objects or Warholian 'time capsules.' The word 'Nirvana' suggests ecstatic scenarios, but here references nightlife entertainment venues—discotheques whose sounds, lights, and rhythms transport to an undefined elsewhere. Casini makes unusual use of both frames and supports, with images on wallpaper inscribed in mineral devices of rudimentary contours. The exhibition was reviewed by Claudia Santeroni for Artribune.