Bruce Conner, BREAKAWAY (1966) in The screen is a muscle at Gallerie d’Italia – Torino, 31 October–2 November 2025. Presented by Artissima 2025 and Intesa Sanpaolo.

BREAKAWAY features the the actor, filmmaker, dancer, choreographer, and singer Toni Basil dancing energetically against an empty black backdrop to an upbeat soundtrack, a Motown-inspired pop song called ‘Breakaway’ that she released in 1966 as the B-side to her first single, ‘I’m 28’. Throughout the film’s five minutes, Conner deploys dizzying camera zooms, stroboscopic effects, and rapid-fire cuts that transform Basil’s choreography into a psychedelic spectacle of pulsating, blurred, ecstatic movement.

The screen is a muscle is curated by Luca Lo Pinto and is inspired by Yvonne Rainer’s renowned 1968 work, The Mind is a Muscle. The exhibition will be the third edition of the annual artists’ film and video programme organised to coincide with the Artissima art fair.

Bruce Conner, BREAKAWAY (1966) in
The screen is a muscle

31 October–2 November 2025

Gallerie D’Italia – Torino
Piazza San Carlo 156
Turin