Looking to indulge in a bit of art history and culture during your stay in Italy, this year? Well here is a taster of what you can expect to find when in Rome, Venice, Florence, Milan and even Genoa and Naples. From modern art greats through to the ancient history of Pompeii, here are 6 of the best exhibitions that are on during the month of August in Italy.
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Uomini come Cibo
Milano da Max Mara
Via Monte di Pieta 23
until 18 Sept 2015
Image may be NSFW.
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Max Mara, in collaboration with Collezione Maramotti present Uomini come Cibo, an exhibition that shares the work of children of the Atellier dell’Errore visual arts group of the Reggio Emilia neuropsychiatry department. Here the theme of Expo Milano 2015 is turned on its head and rather than man eating food its monsters eating man as their food. These creatures are generally the result of the group’s children’s personal fears but turning them into positive beings rather than ones to fear. The drawings at Via Monte di Pieta occupy 5 floors that feel as if they are in a state of abandonment, and with some of the drawings more than 10 pieces of A4 paper. A must see.
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Alchemy / Mural by Jackson Pollock
Guggenheim, Venice
until 14 Sept and 16 Nov 2015
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A double whammy of Jackson Pollock awaits those that visit the Peggy Guggenheim collection in Venice this August. The first is dedicated to his masterpiece ‘Alchemy’ that has been subject to a lengthy process of surface cleaning, restoring it to its former glory. Also the results of a series of extensive studies that were undertaken by 11 Italian science institutions are on display in an interactive and multimedia installation. The second Pollock exhibition is ‘Mural: Energy Made Visible’, the largest painting that the artist created, commissioned in the Summer of 1943 by Peggy Guggenheim. It too has been through a thorough 18-month campaign of restoration and is the centre piece of the exhibition that also includes work by his wife Lee Krasner and David Smith.
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August Sander
Palazzo Ducale, Genoa
until 23 Aug 2015
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Are you a lover of photography? Then I am sure you will have come across Germany’s photography great August Sander, often regarded as a master of photo documentary and portraiture. The work of Sander is presented through over 100 hundred selected images that are divided into various sections including many from his famous series ‘Men of the twentieth century’. Visitors are invited to study some of Sander’s greatest shots that made him the world famous photographer he is known as today, and exemplifying his ability to not only catch an incredible ‘moment’ but a shot that can tell numerous stories. Sounds spot on to me.
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David LaChapelle – After the Deluge
Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Rome
until 13 Sept 2015
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The great LaChapelle has returned! More than 15-years since his last show at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni, the great American photographer and artist David LaChapelle is back with a show that is guaranteed to wow. With over 150 works on display, the focus is on the work produced from 2006 onwards, after LaChapelle shook things up and moved to an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, where he produced the monumental series ‘The Deluge’. This series highlights a turning point in his artists approach to his work, hence the name of the show. In order to assist audience comparison, a body of work ranging from 1995 to 2005 will be on show, including portraits of celebrities, references to famous works of art, religious scenes, movies and much more. You know you want to.
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Pompei E L’europa 1748 – 1943
Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples
until 2 Nov 2015
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Recounting the fascination that Pompeii has held over artists and onlookers from wider Europe, this exhibition will take visitors back in time, from the first excavations in 1748 to the unfortunate bombings of 1943. The Vesuvian city is at the centre of a two-way exchange between those excavating and those being influenced by these finds and the history of Pompeii. Between art and artifacts, a collective tapestry of Pompeii comes to life. The exhibition joins the program of events planned for Expo Milano 2015.
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Proportio
Palazzo Fortuny, Venice
until 22 Nov 2015
Image may be NSFW.
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Throughout the course of human history, the concept of proportions has been applied across civilizations. The knowledge of sacred geometry, and the golden ratio in particular, was considered highly advanced and closely linked to secretive spiritual wisdom and religious traditions. In the West, the knowledge of ‘sacred geometry’ was intentionally guarded for hundreds of years and may have been purposefully forgotten or discarded.
Thanks to an international academic committee formed of scientists, philosophers, musicians, architects, historians and art historians, coordinated by Axel Vervoordt and Daniela Ferretti, the number of divine ratio comes alive. The challenge that has drawn in great artists from the international contemporary scene, invited to reflect upon and produce specially commissioned works on the theme. Their works, in dialogue with important masterpieces of other times, will go to form a visual and perceptive symphony capable of involving the visitor in a broad reflection about universal harmony and beauty. These pieces will be on display alongside a selection of Egyptian artifacts, a series of Dutch Old Master architectural paintings, a portrait by Botticelli and a monumental plaster model by Antonio Canova.