Milano jazz club launches contemporary art program

On 15 April 2018, during Milan's art week linked to miart, La Buca di San Vincenzo Jazz Club will inaugurate a contemporary art project conceived by gallerist Pasquale Leccese (owner of Le Case d'Arte) and club owner Fabrizio Farinello. The project aims to create an Arts Club akin to those in London, Paris, and New York. A wall in the venue will be dedicated to video art, with monthly rotations curated by Leccese. The inaugural work is Büsi (Kitty), a 2001 video by Swiss duo Peter Fischli and David Weiss, previously shown on a mega-screen in Times Square, New York. Leccese, who first exhibited Fischli & Weiss in Italy, describes the piece as an "opera-feticcio" embodying his current view of contemporary art: a need to pause and relax. Future programming will focus on young artists, including French video artist Alice Bachmann/TraslochiEmotivi and a project by Jacopo Benassi. Leccese deliberately avoided decorative elements, aiming for a "light" dimension respectful of the club's history. La Buca di San Vincenzo, founded in the early 1900s as an osteria, was once owned by Fred Buscaglione and frequented by gangsters and artists. Today it is known for live music on Mondays and Thursdays.