Presented here to the public is the latest edition of Developments in the Contemporary, a residency programme for Italian artists in Beijing organised for the Italian Embassy and the Istituto Italiano di Cultura in Beijing, with works created specifically in the capital of the People's Republic of China by the artists Flavio Favelli and Daniele Sigalot. The exhibition is presented in the art space of the Italy China Council Foundation (Raffles City Beijing). The initiative is promoted by the Ambassador of Italy to China, Massimo Ambrosetti and by the director of the Istituto Italiano di Cultura in Beijing, Federico Roberto Antonelli. The project is curated by the Associazione Nuova Artemarea ETS, chaired by Guicciardo Sassoli de' Bianchi Strozzi, with the exhibition curated by Manuela Valentini and Ren Jingge, and co-organised by the Italy China Council Foundation.
Launched in summer 2025, the project has already given rise to exhibitions born from the Beijing residencies of Enzo Cacciola and Vincenzo Mascia (July 2025), Davide Bramante and Luca Pozzi (November – December 2025), as well as to works created in Beijing by Matteo Basilé and Davide Sebastian (February – April 2026) within the major exhibitions dedicated during 2026 to the Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio, organised by the Italian Embassy and the Istituto Italiano di Cultura in Beijing at the National Museum of China and at Tsinghua University.
This latest edition of Developments in the Contemporary presents the works created in Beijing by Flavio Favelli and Daniele Sigalot. Both artists start from a conceptual approach and work on the message conveyed by communication: Favelli with a reflection on the products of the world of commerce; Sigalot by offering a direct communication of his encounter with the world.
Flavio Favelli, born in Florence in 1967, uses the packaging and wrappings of everyday commerce as his basic material, turning art into an instrument for stripping away their customary casing. At the same time, he combines artistic thought with the content of product labels, shifting perspective and giving rise to a unique visual and conceptual poetics.
Daniele Sigalot, born in Rome in 1976, conceals depth and philosophical reflection beneath the light, ornamental appearance of his works. His materials of choice are stainless steel and aluminium, materials that allow him to convey the lightness characteristic of paper, while the content of his works expresses life or mirrors social realities that deserve reflection.
Two Italian artists, an encounter across seas and mountains which, in a country with a millennia-old history and culture, gives rise to an extraordinary exhibition of contemporary art rich in suggestion and vision.
