Ryosuke Cohen – Brain Cell | fragments of shared participation

13 - 20 Luglio 2025

ZNS project APS/ETS, which has always been committed to artistic research and experimentation, the enhancement of the territory through art and creativity, and attentive to the enhancement of contemporary artistic production in all its modes of expression, is pleased to present “Ryosuke Cohen – Brain Cell | fragments of shared participation”. A project that sees similarities in its vision and approach to the contemporary already in its name: Brain Cell | ZNS : Zentral Nerve System : Central Nervous System, which disseminates, through receptive synapses, thoughts and actions. 

Ryosuke Cohen (Osaka, 1948), is a well-known Japanese artist and exponent of “Mail Art”, internationally recognised and defined by critics as a cornerstone of the movement. The exhibition, “Ryosuke Cohen – Brain Cell | fragments of shared participation”, curated by ZNSproject APS/ETS and under the patronage of the municipality of Palagiano, presents a collection of over 100 issues of the “Brain Cell” project: An artistic project that Cohen himself has been carrying out for more than 40 years and which testifies to the strength of multi-handed artistic participation and sharing. 

The works in the exhibition, thanks to the personal collection of Cristiano Pallara (Lecce, 1976), a visual artist and exponent of International Mail Art since the 1990s, represent an exceptional visual, spatial and temporal synthesis of the limited-edition works created and sent by Cohen from the 1990s to more recent times. An excursus that allows enthusiasts, connoisseurs and the curious to discover and follow its development and longevity, for the first time in Apulia. In the works on display, more than 100 Brain Cells dated 1995 - 2025, it is possible to identify Pallara's own interventions, among other well-known exponents, a succession of cycles that render his imaginative artistic vision, ranging from a bestiary made without looking at paper to cycles dedicated to spirituality and religions.

Since 1985, Cohen has been sending out his Brain-Cell-sheets with surprising punctuality. He adopts a personal technique using images, stamps, labels, collages and other material he receives from hundreds of artists around the world. In this way, he activates a ramified collaboration, not only miles apart, but also continuous over time, welcoming ideas, styles, personalities, themes, diverse in culture, origin, time contexts and intentions. A visual map that manages to make individual artistic vision and collective contribution coexist and interact, and that can make us define Brain-Cell as a planetary project, dynamic and always evolving. Cohen declares << It is like a single body with a brain construction composed of a large number of structured and complex nerve cells, arranged in a non-linear order. That is why I have called this type of art “Brain cell” and have been recruiting new supporters since June 1985 >>. 

Why “fragments of shared participation”? Because Cohen, one of the most interesting and active exponents of the Mail Art network, with his playful experimentation, his research and his concrete freedom as an artist, promotes a collaborative “doing” far from cultural conformism. In an era when everything seems to travel in the ether, at high speed, through digital, ephemeral and immaterial connections, there is still a well-established practice that searches for and exchanges stamps, recreates letter envelopes, tastes of paper, glue and patient waiting. Although the postal system now seems to have fallen into disuse and been largely replaced, there is still, throughout the world, a vivid and intense movement. Thousands of artists keep art alive by correspondence, exchanging small works among themselves, far from the mainstream or financial ambitions. At first glance, each Brain-Cell number may appear repetitive, mnemonic, overwhelmed by chaos, but this is precisely the feature dearest to Cohen when he refers to the concept of the fractal, i.e. similar figures that repeat themselves ad infinitum. The focus is not on the single finished sheet but, on the contrary, looks at the infinity of the set of individual interventions that have taken place over time and are still taking place. His organisational skills and Brain Cell's widespread dissemination result in a unique and meticulous work spanning decades, the result of fragments of a shared, desired, researched and expected participatory network. To date, more than 5000 artists from 80 countries collaborate with Brain-Cell. His works and projects have been exhibited in the world's most prestigious museums and many archives preserve valuable documentation of them.

On Sunday 13 July, at the inauguration in Via Murat 9 in Palagiano, Artist Cristiano Pallara will talk about his contribution to Brain Cell and the International Mail Art network. The evening will be accompanied by musical experimentation, as we like it (ZNS APS/ETS project), with “PinodiLenne” and his friends. 'What art is for' is the double hashtag that accompanies all the initiatives of the ZNS APS/ETS project: on the one hand turns the recurring question posed by several parties into a slogan; on the other it keeps the focus on the complexity of art making and its immense power in communicating to the world about the world. ZNSproject APS/ETS is a non-profit association that researches and experiments with new connections and interconnections, if only to discuss and debate the meaning of making art. Away from the official channels, it looks where, it hopes to find genuine inventiveness, personal and mature research, free of the repetitiveness and mannerisms to which the mainstream algorithms are taming us, without the ability to look, understand, reinvent and reinterpret beyond cultural conformism and the already seen.

From 14 to 20 July it will be possible to visit the exhibition by appointment. At the same time, workshops for children, young people and adults will be held. For info contact via whatsapp

text by Margherita Capodiferro

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PROGRAMMA 

“Ryosuke Cohen – Brain Cell | fragments of shared participation”

13-20 July 2025

curated by ZNSproject APS/ETS

text by Margherita Capodiferro

Domenica 13 Luglio

Vernissage at 20:30

Cristiano Pallara talks about his contribution to "Brain Cell" and the international Mail Art network

from 21:00

Musical experimentation by Pino di Lenne and his friends

From 14 to 20 July

it will be possible to visit the exhibition by appointment.

Via Murat Art Container

piazzetta Murat, Palagiano (TA)

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Ryosuke Cohen (Osaka, 1948) for a long time was interested in the Dada and Fluxus movement, in contact with Shozo Shimamoto and the members of the Gutai group sharing a new way of making contemporary art in a spontaneous and natural way. In 1985 he started the Brain Cell project, which today has more than 5,000 collaborating artists from 80 countries, with over 1246 issues produced. In August 2001, he started the “Fractal Portrait” project in Italy, with which he produced portraits and silhouettes at various meetings around the world: United States, Canada, England, Northern Ireland, Spain, Yugoslavia, Germany, Holland, Korea, Italy and France. His works, performances and projects have been exhibited in the world's most prestigious museums. Numerous archives hold his precious documentation.

Cristiano Pallara (Lecce, 1976), visual artist. A finalist at the 2008 Celeste Prize and the 2012 Combat Prize, he has already exhibited with the Paolo Erbetta Gallery in Foggia at the most important National Contemporary Art Fairs, from MIART to ARTVERONA. Since the 1990s, he has been an active exponent of International Mail Art network and collaborated actively in Ryosuke Cohen's Brain Cell.

ZNS project APS/ETS: Zentral Nerve System : Central nervous system: spreading thoughts and actions through receptive synapses. It has always been committed to artistic research and experimentation, to the enhancement of the territory through art and creativity, and to contemporary artistic production in all its modes of expression. It searches for and experiments with novel connections and interconnections, far from official channels, and looks where, hopefully, it will find genuine inventiveness, personal and mature research, even if only to discuss and confront the meaning of making art. ‘What is art for’ if not to keep the focus on the complexity of art making and its immense power to communicate to the world about the world?

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