Exhibition explores connections between post-war Italian art and design
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Saturday, December 14, 2024


Exhibition explores connections between post-war Italian art and design
Installation view. © Matthieu Salvaing.



PARIS.- The architect Charles Zana and Tornabuoni Art are presenting ‘Utopia’, an exhibition that explores connections between post-war Italian art and design, from 18 October to 21 December.

This exhibition, designed and conceived by the architect Charles Zana in collaboration with Tornabuoni Art Paris, is based on the idea of dialogue, like previous exhibitions designed by the architect. This dialogue unfolds room by room in the exhibition, whose name is inspired by the ‘Utopia’ lamp created by the pioneering female architect Nanda Vigo in 1970. This iconic lamp – shaped like a frame ­transforms the empty space at its heart into a picture made of light.

Charles Zana, architect and curator, comments: In ‘Utopia’ I want to show how the different Italian avant-garde movements disrupted the history of art and design in the 20th century. This incredible creative effervescence of artists and architects in the aftermath of World War II gave birth to visionary forms that had never been seen before – and I dreamed of this as Utopia.

Francesca Piccolboni, Director of Tornabuoni Art Paris, comments: Tornabuoni has given carte blanche to the architect and designer Charles Zana to create the exhibition 'Utopia' – a mise-en-scene combining avant-garde Italian art and design. Continuing our programme of exhibitions devoted to the Italian cultural panorama from the 1950s to the 1980s, our Paris gallery will be the site of an imaginary dialogue between artists and designers. It is particularly interesting to observe the cross-pollination between art and design during this fundamental period in Italian art history, as artists and architects expanded beyond their traditional fields of work, seeking to create new worlds on the ashes of the old, with a visionary optimism in futuristic modernity that remains influential today.

Through around forty pairings of works of art and design, where furniture, painting and sculpture will be presented as though they were couples engaged in a conversation, ‘Utopia’ offers an original exploration of the relationships between the greatest Italian artists and architects from the 1950s to the 1970s. The aim is to reveal the common aspirations and experimental spirit of this visionary generation who sought to reimagine art and design in the decades following the War.

Zana transformed Tornabuoni Art’s historic Paris townhouse into a series of intimate salons that show art and design pairs. His mise-en-scene creates intimate, imaginary scenarios, asking questions such as ‘What if Giorgio De Chirico and Ettore Sottsass spoke the same metaphysical language? Did Lucio Fontana and Carlo Mollino share a similar quest for the absolute?’

‘Utopia’ brings to light for the first time the links between many artists and designers: Gino Sarfatti and Paolo Scheggi, Carlo Scarpa and Dadamaino, Enrico Castellani and Nanda Vigo, Michele de Lucchi and Alberto Burri, to name a few.

Whether they are linked by a similar vision of time, a concern for the role of man in nature and space, or a shared poetic vocabulary that connects the sacred and profane, the Italian architects and artists shown in this exhibition possessed an extraordinary ability to disrupt and redefine the boundaries between art and design.

‘Utopia’ is accompanied by an original publication with essays by Charles Zana and the art historian Dr Flavia Frigeri.










Today's News

October 22, 2019

Jennifer Angus' largest insect art installation dazzles at the MFA, St. Petersburg

Christie's to offer monumental canvas by Yves Klein

Major exhibition at MoMA displays over 100 important works by Latin American artists

Artist Huang Yong Ping dies at the age of 65

Ramsay Fairs add VOLTA to their portfolio of art fairs

Startled marmot and a fox lead the way at Wildlife Photography Awards

French architect Jean Nouvel workshop sues Paris concert hall

The Cleveland Museum of Art announces stellar group of new acquisitions

Kasmin opens 'James Rosenquist: Two Paintings'

Chisenhale Gallery Director Polly Staple appointed Director of Collection, British Art at Tate

In Dijon, where mustard rules, you can also meet an ancient goddess

When Mary met Edgar: Exploring Cassatt and Degas

Blue-chip gallery shows and art fairs hit New York for October Art Week

Ketterer Kunst announces anniversary auction in Munich - 19th Century Art

"Enigma Pinocchio. From Giacometti to LaChapelle" opens today at Villa Bardini, Florence

East Hampton Historical Society presents 'Thomas Moran Discovers the American West'

Exhibition explores connections between post-war Italian art and design

Istanbul Research Institute opens "Memories of Humankind: Stories from the Ottoman Manuscripts"

Nelson-Atkins exhibition features latest technological breakthroughs in accessible design

Joy Labinjo opens her first major institutional solo presentation at BALTIC

Exhibition explores the rich history of food photography

High Museum of Art awarded Bank of America Art Conservation Project grant for Thornton Dial works

Important works by Nathan Oliveira and the Robin Leach Collection fuel Clars sale

University Archives auction will include items pertaining to the Beatles, Apollo 11, Paul Gauguin




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful