Tang Contemporary Art is pleased to announce the opening of Italian artist Marinella Senatore’s solo exhibition, “I CONTAIN MULTITUDES,” on June 28, 2025, at 4 p.m. at its Beijing First Space. Senatore’s work recently garnered significant attention at the Art Basel in Basel, Switzerland, and this marks her first solo exhibition in China.
In the upcoming exhibition, Marinella will present several of her key representative series to Chinese audiences, focusing on the recurring elements in her practice. These include her “luminaria” light sculptures, specifically designed for public spaces, museums, and festivals worldwide, which create temporary architectural structures that provide spaces for rituals and social gatherings. Renowned curator Hou Hanru has written an essay specifically for this exhibition to elucidate the significance of Marinella's work in the contemporary art field.
Marinella Senatore
Hou Hanru
As opposed to the official feast, one might say that carnival celebrated temporary liberation from the prevailing truth and from the established order; it marked the suspension of all hierarchical rank, privileges, norms, and prohibitions. Carnival was the true feast of time, the feast of becoming, change, and renewal. It was hostile to all that was immortalized and completed. [1]
—— Mikhail Bakhtin
1
Our time is full of contradictions, even in the field of contemporary art. Contemporary art is blossoming all around the world, from the “global north” to the “global south”. However, it’s quickly and systematically institutionalized and commodified. “Socially participatory art” as an alternative outlet, or even an oppositional mode of creation, is now largely considered as being ethically more relevant and artistically more original. Parallel to the dominant modes of representation and consumption of art, a movement of participatory art is now being proliferated across the world. Marinella Senatore is one of the most active and remarkable artists involved and developed in this movement in Italy, and also in the international scene. Her “brand” is a long-term project ‘School of Narrative Dance”.
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EXHIBITING WORKS
 Dance first, think later Print on paper 340 x 626 cm 2025 |  We rise by lifting others Neon sculpture to be installed on the wall 176x200cm 2025 |  Watch here to be happy Collage on cotton paper 70 x 50 cm each 2025 |
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 A hopeful turn after adversity Fabric embroidered banner 180 x 140 cm，H230cm 2025 |  Dance first, think later Neon sculpture to be installed on the wall 114.5x161cm 2025 |  View someone in a new light Fabric embroidered banner 112x200cm 2025 |
 There is so much we can learn from the sun - #5 Collage on golden leaf 50 x 70 cm each 2025 |  Soulful melodies of nature Fabric embroidered banner 180 x 120 cm 2025 |  Rise up Collage on cotton paper 50 x 35 cm each 2025 |
Artist
Marinella Senatore
b. 1977, Cava de’ Tirreni, Italy
Marinella Senatore is a multidisciplinary artist trained in music, fine arts and cinema. Her practice is defined by a strong collective and participatory dimension that acts both as method and content, combining rigorous aesthetic research with the transformative power of social engagement. Through the use of traditional and vernacular language forms - including pop culture, dance, music, mass events - and activism, Senarore reflects on the political nature of collective formations and rituals and their possibility for social change, creating moments of encounter, sharing and workshops. Her works are based on a potentially infinite inclusion of elements: her approach acknowledges the surrounding context, in which the artworks become functional structures and create new ambiences through the use of multiple media: light installations, collage, textile and performance.
In 2012, Marinella Senatore created The School of Narrative Dance(SOND), a nomadic, free of charge, and non-hierarchical school that proposes an alternative educational system based on emancipation, empowerment, and self-education. With SOND, the artist creates platforms that invite often non-professional community members to create site-specific collective movements and storytelling activities, aligned with the collective rituals of public festivals and protests alike. The school’s activities vary according to their hosting space: in ten years, they have taken place in over 23 countries, involving about 8 million people.Since her training at the National Film School in Rome (where the artist studied direction of photography), light has always been a key element for the artist: “Light can prove to be a tool for narration and poetic creation, as well as for resistance and cohesion.”The large-scale light sculptures, handcrafted in Apulia, Italy, with LED bulbs and recycled materials, have been designed for public places, museums, and festivals worldwide. These “luminarie” have become a key, recurring element in Senatore’s production: particularly significant for their catalytic power, these ephemeral architectures create temporary spaces for rituals and socialization. Inspired by Southern Italy’s traditional illuminated decorations, they incorporate evocative quotes about empowerment and community building.
Senatore’s works have been commissioned and exhibited by Italian and international institutions alike, including: Hayward Gallery / Southbank Center, London; Noor, Riyadh; Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Guarene; Berlinische Galerie; High Line, New York City; Centre Pompidou, Paris; Palais de Tokyo, Paris; BAK Utrecht; Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt; Kunsthaus Zürich; ICA, Richmond; Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal; Pearl Art Museum, Shanghai; Domaine Pommery, Reims; Moderna Museet, Stockholm; Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo, Madrid; Serpentine Gallery, London; Museum of Contemporary Art of Chicago; Bozar, Bruxelles; Kunsthalle Sankt Gallen; Kastner Gesellschaft, Hannover; Museum der Moderne Salzburg; Museum VILLA STUCK, Munich; Kurgarten vor dem Kurhaus, Baden-Baden; FIAC Hors Les Murs at the Jardins des Tuileries, Paris; Steirischer Herbst’21, Graz; MAXXI, Rome; FORMAT Festival, Betonville, Arkansas; Kappa Futur Festival, Turin; Villa Borghese, Rome; Museo del Novecento, Milan; Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi, Florence; Museo Madre, Naples; Palazzo Grassi, Venice; M.A.C.C.A., Peccioli. The artist has participated in the following contemporary art biennials: Venice Biennale; São Paulo Biennial; Lyon Biennial; Thessaloniki Biennial; Liverpool Biennial; Athens Biennial; Havana Biennial; Gothenburg Biennial; Cuenca Biennial; Pune Biennial; South Tyrol Biennial; Bangkok Biennial; and Manifesta12, Palermo.
Senatore won numerous awards, such as: Premio Officina Arte Ducati, 2025; Lio Art Prize, 2023; ACACIA Prize 2021; Cantica21 Italian Contemporary Art Everywhere Prize; Cinello Unlimited Prize; Italian Council Award (4th and 7th editions); Evelyn Award; York Museum, UK; Art Grant - The Foundation of Arts and Music for Dresden, Germany, 2017; MAXXI and AMACI (Associazione dei Musei d’Arte Contemporanea Italiani) Prize, 2014; Castello di Rivoli Fellowship, 2013; American Academy in Rome Fellowship, 2012; Gotham Prize and 23rd M. Bellisario Prize, 2012; The New York Prize and Premio Terna, 2010; and Dena Foundation Fellowship, 2009.