Orticanoodles

Orticanoodles was born from the meeting of Walter Contipelli “Wally” (Carrara, 1977) and Alessandra Montanari “Alita” (Milan, 1975). It took his first steps on the walls of Milan through the stencil technique, in which it stands out for its technical ability and experimentation. In 2004, Orticanoodles is in the TSO crew. From the first experiments, the name that today identifies a large production group became a factory of curatorship and production for other artists. The reference to the nettle, a weed, is also inspired by the name of the Milanese district of Ortica, where Orticanoodles resides. Around 2006, there are numerous images associated with the couple that become subjects of the first paintings: the frog, the thorny heart and a fork with stinging noodles are some of the most representative. With the stencil, a pop imagery is shaped and expressed mainly through iconic portraits. Given the increasingly large size of the works born thanks to public commissions, in 2013 it developed a technique related to the ancient technique of dusting. It obtains international recognition thanks to its virtuosity in the use of stencils, and is invited to participate in events such as the Cans Festival, organized by Banksy (London 2008) and Stencil History X (Paris 2008). In 2010 Itinerrance gallery in Paris dedicates it a solo exhibition, in 2010 it is at Mart in Rovereto within the group show dedicated to Stencil Art, while in 2013 the collective participates in the epochal exhibition Tour-Paris 13, in Paris. Among the commissions of private companies include ENI, Allianz, Credit Agricole, Cariparma, Biffi, Boston Consulting. The interventions of Orticanoodles can be found in various Italian cities in addition to Milan, including Bologna, Carrara, Naples, Lecco, Massa, Mantua, Catania, Verona. It has worked in Djerba in Tunisia, it has portrayed Joseph Beuys in Dusseldorf, Gilberto Gil in Rio de Janeiro, as well as having worked in Amsterdam, Misurata, Beijing, Rosenthal. The Allianz Tower in Milan enters the Guinness Book of Records thanks to almost 3 square kilometres of interior walls painted by the Orticanoodles collective. The artists have been involved in participatory art projects since 2011, recognising the importance of the active involvement of the population that normally inhabits the places affected by urban art. Among these, the OrMe project, dedicated to the Ortica neighbourhood, has become a reference point for muralism in Milan, demonstrating how urban art can create positive synergies between artistic expression, social inclusion and the enhancement of urban areas neglected by redevelopment programmes.