Spazio Nea: from coffee to art

During my short stay in Naples last weekend, I had the pleasure of having a drink at Spazio Nea, one of the most evocative places in the historic center of the city, located in Piazza Bellini.

Spazio Nea is a contemporary art gallery founded in 2011 with the aim of fostering a greater connection between knowledge and art. It exhibits various art forms such as photographic exhibitions, paintings, sculptures, etc., to create a living and dynamic space dedicated to different forms of entertainment.

Spazio Nea carries out an innovative concept “Fronte Strada” (Facing the street), to ensure the meeting between public accessibility and art exhibition. In fact, connected to the gallery, is located the coffee space; a place of meetings and exchange with a cozy and relaxing atmosphere, in which to drink a coffee, an herbal tea, read a book or sip a drink, immersed in art and culture. The coffee space develops into a large external courtyard, with two large seventeenth-century staircases, which lead to the Library of Humanistic Research of the University of Naples Federico II.

Fig. 1 Spazio Nea seventeenth-century staircases

Fig. 2 Spazio Nea courtyard

During my recent visit to Spazio Nea I came across a textual wall painting by the Danish artist Tanja Nis-Hansen, which reports cryptic messages “Big Burp” and “Creeping Ulcer”. The writing in black with large and predominant characters represents the relationship between language, body, and crisis, highlighting how the human body reacts to conditions of urgency.

Fig. 3 Big Burp and Creeping Ulcer by Tanja Nis-Hansen

What struck me about Spazio Nea is the ability to reconcile art and relaxation, promoting culture and artistic skills, which in recent decades no longer gives so much importance.

The opportunity to immerse yourself in a charming place in the heart of Naples, the result of Neapolitan architecture and creativity of local citizens. The artwork of Nis-Hansen has particularly attracted me for its ability to use the language to represent physical sensations, through cryptic messages, arousing a first reaction of amazement, subsequently stimulating emotional reactions. It reflects on the way the human mind reacts to crises, through a reflective and engaging experience.