Alphabet of Haven: Lettrism, Fluxus, and the Legacy of Villa Cernigliaro

ALPHABET OF HAVEN Lettrism, Fluxus, and the Legacy of Villa Cernigliaro A curatorial journey by Carlotta Cernigliaro Courtesy: Associazione Zero Gravità Villa Cernigliaro per Arti e Culture, Sordevolo, Italy A presentation by El NIDO by VC Projects, 1028 1/2 N. Western Avenue, os Angeles 90004 Viewings begin October 22, 2026 | By appointment Contact: [email protected] Opening: Monday, October 26, 2026, from 4:30–6:30 PM Artists Featured Anne-Catherine Caron, Vittoria Adele Zamboni, Tommaso Correale Santacroce, Roland Sabatier, Paola Zorzi, John Cage, and Armando Riva "Alphabet" (The Raw Material of Art) Refers directly to the core matrix of Lettrism and visual poetry. It signifies the use of the letter, the graphic sign, the typographic character, and the phoneme dismantled from its traditional linguistic function to become pure visual form. It is the raw material with which artists build their language. "Haven" (The Site and the Vision) Refers to Villa Cernigliaro and its historic park. The Villa is conceived not merely as a container or a conventional gallery space, but as a genuine haven of intellectual freedom. Historically a sanctuary and gathering place for the anti-fascist group of intellectuals centered around Franco Antonicelli, the estate carries a deep legacy as a protected space for cultural resistance. Continuing this tradition, historical avant-garde movements and local artists found here a place of preservation, focus, and creative rebirth in which to cultivate transformative ideas. Combining the two concepts, "Alphabet of Haven" literally means: the visual and poetic language born, preserved, and developed within the protected, regenerative atmosphere of Villa Cernigliaro. It represents the unique expressive code forged within those walls through the encounter between the avant-garde collection (Lettrism and Fluxus) and local artists. In the mid-20th century, Lettrism radically dismantled language to rebuild art from its most fundamental atom: the letter, the sound, the visual sign. While Paris served as the epicenter of this poetic and typographic revolution, its resonant waves traveled far beyond French borders, intersecting with the radical fluidity of Fluxus and finding uniquely fertile ground in Italy. This exhibition traces a deeply personal and historic genealogy of visual poetry and avant-garde experimentation. It is a journey born from the crucial encounter and collaboration with Francesco Conz in Verona—a monumental figure in supporting concrete poetry, visual art, and the Fluxus movement—which subsequently took root at Villa Cernigliaro. Nestled in the Biellese landscape, the estate carried forward its legacy as an intellectual haven, evolving into a living laboratory and creative retreat where international avant-garde traditions met and intertwined with local creative energy. Bringing together historical Lettrist masterworks alongside pieces by Biellese artists who absorbed, reinterpreted, and expanded these visual lexicons, the collection curated by Carlotta Cernigliaro offers an unprecedented bridge across continents. Presented now at El Nido in Hollywood, this selection reveals how the letter—liberated from syntax—continues to serve as a universal language of resistance, poetry, and infinite visual invention. — Carlotta Cernigliaro Carlotta Cernigliaro — Curator Carlotta Cernigliaro is an Italian curator, graphic designer, and cultural organizer based in Sordevolo, Piedmont. Trained at IED in Milan, she founded the design studio Ergonarte and developed a practice spanning visual communication, theatre, and experimental art. As the owner and custodian of Villa Cernigliaro, she founded Associazione Zero Gravità, supporting contemporary artistic research and preserving the cultural legacy of Franco Antonicelli. Her curatorial work brings historical avant-garde movements into dialogue with contemporary artists through exhibitions, performances, and international collaborations, sustaining the Villa as a place of intellectual freedom and cultural exchange.