ItalyTraveller experience.
Futurism 100 years on
Exhibitions in Milan, Rome, Rovereto and Venice.
On 20th February 1909 the French newspaper, "Le Figaro" published the poet Filippo Tommaso Marinetti's "Futurist Manifesto", a revolutionary, and bombastic programme, which called for drastic cultural renovation in the name of the new rhythms of modern life and industrialised society. Concepts like speed, dynamism, energy and action erupted in the works of Boccioni, Balla, Carrà, Severini, artists who, in 1920 enthusiastically embraced the movement, publishing their "Manifesto of Futurist Painters". The art establishment was thus knocked for six by a movement which deliberately discarded the past, and projected itself single-mindedly towards the future, in the process initiating a number of other avant-garde artistic movements.
A hundred years later, Italy marks the centenary of this movement with a series of exhibitions which are to be held in a number of cities. The first event of the Futurism 100 project is the exhibition at the Mart of Rovereto. "Illuminazioni. Avantguardie a confronto. Italia-Germania-Russia" explores the relationship between Italian Futurists and the exponents of Russian and German avant-garde movements. To coincide with the exhibition, the Casa d'Arte Futurista Fortunato Depero has been re-opened to the public, complete with a new layout which allows visitors to admire all the most important elements of the Depero Collection.
Milan, the city where Futurism was born and the scene of its first and most exhilarating period, hosts the "FuturisMI. La città che sale. 1909-2009" project: a rich programme of initiatives encompassing theatre, dance, and cinema, transforming the city into a Capital of Futurism. A key event in this project is the "Futurismo 1909-2009 Velocita+Arte +Azione" exhibition in the Palazzo Reale, with almost 400 works of art, drawings, paintings, sculptures, architectural designs, photos, printed media and fashion on display. Also in Milan's Palazzo Reale, as part of Futurismo 100, we find "Simultaneità", an exhibition dedicated to Umberto Boccioni and European avant-garde sculpture.
In Venice, concurrent with the 53° edition of the Biennale, the city's Correr Museum will host the "Astrazioni" exhibition.
In Rome, February 20th has been chosen as the date to inaugurate the "Futurismo. Avanguardia-Avanguardie", exhibition in the Scuderie del Quirinale, organised in collaboration with Paris's Georges Pompidou Centre and London's Tate Modern. This exhibition focuses on the progressive development of futurism and cubism in relation to British Vorticism, Russian Cubo-Futurism and American Synchronism, and underlines the importance of the futurist movement as propaganda machine. Of particular interest is presence of works by international artists such as Picasso, Braque, Lèger, Duchamp, Delaunay, alongside those of the Italians Boccioni, Balla, Severini and Carrà.
MART - Rovereto (Trento)
Futurismo 100
Illuminazioni. Avanguardie a confronto. Italia, Germania, Russia
January 17th - June 7th 2009
www.mart.trento.it
Museo Correr - Venice
Futurismo 100: Astrazioni
June 5th - October 4th 2009
www.museiciviciveneziani.it
Palazzo Reale - Milan
Futurismo 1909-2009. Velocità + Arte + Azione
February 6th - June 7th 2009
Futurismo 100: Simultaneità
October 15th 2009 - January 25th 2010
www.futurismo.milano.it
Scuderie del Quirinale - Rome
Futurismo. Avanguardia-Avanguardie
February 20th - May 24th 2009
www.scuderiequirinale.it
Trapani's Pepoli Museum
Precious jewellery, made by Sicily's master coral artists.
Contemporary art in Varese
In Villa Menafoglio, Count Panza's Collection of Art.
Biennale Art – 53rd International exhibition
When worlds make art and art makes worlds.
When dreams are made of stone
Scarzuola and the ideal city of Tomaso Buzzi.
White Passion
Antonio Canova's Plaster Cast Gallery in Possagno.
In Vino Veritas
The history of wine and wineries in Torgiano’s Wine Museum.
Revolutionary dabs of paint
The innovative style of the Tuscan Macchiaioli.
The truth of flesh
"Accursed" painters at the Galleria Borghese.
Revolutionary royal silk
San Leucio: the ancient village overlooking the Caserta Palace transformed into the Royal silk factory.
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