Monica Bonvicini: Come Run With Me: Pinacoteca Agnelli, Torino, Italy

The environmental neon installation Come Run With Me, specially commissioned for the southern curve of the Pista 500, which spans approximately 30 metres, transforms the space into a monumental call to action: “run away with me.” This work draws on a series of drawings Bonvicini developed in the early 2000s, exploring 1970s song lyrics containing the word "run" as expressions of change and movement. This theme recurs in Bonvicini's practice, as seen in the permanent public sculpture RUN, installed at London’s Queen Elizabeth Park. In this new commission for Pinacoteca Agnelli, Bonvicini refers to a specific song, translating it into a large-scale neon sign specifically adapted to the shape and scale of the Pista 500’s southern curve. Each letter is composed of white neon lines, programmed to create a light choreography that reflects themes of escape, speed, and freedom. The neon work echoes the visual history of billboards and promotional slogans, as well as architecture’s role as a social project and a medium for communication, where the design of spaces is inextricably linked to our politics and culture.

Monica Bonvicini's multidisciplinary practice investigates the relationship between architecture and power structures. Her works, often raw and direct, reflect on language, playing with its ambiguity and role as both a harshly disciplinary or potentially emancipatory force. Rich with historical, political, and social references, her projects engage with the locations in which they are displayed and with the audiences that encounter them, ultimately questioning what it means to make art today.

Image:  Monica Bonvicini, Come Run With Me, 2024, Pinacoteca Agnelli Torino, 2024

Image Courtesy Pinacoteca Agnelli, Torino

Photo by Sebastiano Pellion di Persano