LOU CHAT PITURÀ E PARLÀ
Solo exhibition by Lucia Norbiato

The cat, an enigmatic and independent creature, has moved through the history of the imagination as a symbol of freedom, elegance, and mystery. With LOU CHAT PITURÀ E PARLÀ, Espaci Occitan presents a solo exhibition by Lucia Norbiato: an integrated exhibition path that combines visual works with a rich selection of literary texts, a video installation, and participatory activities designed to directly involve the public. The inauguration is scheduled for Thursday, July 16 at 6:00 PM at the Espaci Occitan premises, at Via Val Maira 19 in Dronero, and the exhibition will be open until September 12, during the center’s opening hours.

The main core of the exhibition displays some of the paintings and chalcographic works created by Norbiato over a period of ten years. Ink drawings, silverpoint, and engravings using traditional techniques are intertwined with innovative experiments. Among these, the Plagrafie stand out—an original process developed by the artist in 2021: the technique uses matrices created with a 3D printer that generate unstable and ever-changing prints. Her style favors the strength of an essential, fluid, sometimes scratched mark, capable of capturing the living and restless presence of the animal between domestic loyalty and untamed nature. The exhibition also includes a leporello printed in 100 numbered copies, documenting part of the works, to which is added an original engraving, and the publication of the first four prints of a new collection entitled Bestiari for Doùos editions. The works bring together engravings and literary texts in Occitan and Piedmontese dialects with Italian translations, printed with movable type using a Vandercook press.

Word and image engage in a close dialogue through a video contribution in the “Gatti d’autore” area. A space, curated by Rosella Pellerino, the Association’s Scientific Director, is entirely set up for reading and listening to excerpts of texts and quotes by Italian, Occitan, Piedmontese, and other language writers, accompanied by paintings dedicated to the cat, with the aim of creating a choral dialogue between art and literature, searching for artists of the past but also poets of our present and our territory. In this space, the public can become the protagonist of a writing experience: visitors will find a long strip of paper hanging on the wall where they can draw or write thoughts and reflections about cats in their preferred language.

Lucia Norbiato holds degrees in Architecture and Intercultural Communication. Her artistic research combines tradition and experimentation, intertwining ancient graphic and pictorial techniques with contemporary technological tools. Consistent with her intercultural background, Norbiato’s literary research aims to highlight the variety and richness of local dialects, also thanks to the contribution of language experts from the Stura Valley, and especially her mother Renata Costa for the Po Valley. This approach is reflected in the editions (Doùos, “two”), a publishing brand created by the artist to highlight the key elements of her work: image and word. The engravings placed alongside the writings do not have an illustrative or subordinate function but are formed on parallel paths.

The initiative is organized by Espaci Occitan with the support of the Piedmont Region. Free admission; for info: Espaci Occitan, Tel. 0171.904075, segreteria@espaci-occitan.org, Fb @museooccitano, Ig @museo.occitano.