Arte Italiana @t its Finest

On Thursday, 13 July 2007, approximately 500+ people raced through the doors of Milan’s Palazzo Reale for the opening of its latest exhibition: Arte Italiana, 1968-2007. On display until mid-November, these paintings, under the ideas of Vittorio Sgarbi and curated by Maurizio Sciaccaluga, re-unites la crème de la crème of what modern/contemporary Italian painting has been known to express in the last half of this century, from 1968 until the more recent experiences.


Some artists represented in this exhibition were the following: Domenico Gnoll, Renato Guttuso, Piero Guccione, Valerio Adami, Gianfranco Ferroni, as well as artists who are not so well-known, such as Adelchi Mantovani, Gustavo Foppiani, Lorenzo Tornabuoni and Giancarlo Vitali. Cultural and aesthetic watersheds are not only political, as 1968 represents the symbol of the landslide of ideologies. It also represents unanimated ideas shared between the beauty found in art and the outpouring of the spirit expressed to the viewers. There was also a side exhibition of Italian architect mastermind Gio Ponti, who designed a myriad of stylish yet functional furniture and urban buildings. Many of his works still stand in Milan today.


Since I did not possess an invitation (and I couldn’t jump in line with somebody else since everyone came as a couple), I had to wait over two hours to see this exhibition. It was a madhouse, to say the least. Everyone was pushing and shoving, cutting in line and yelling just to have first dibs on viewing the exhibition. The three security guards, 2 at the door, one responsible for checking everyone’s invitation (and yes, there were a few frauds!) kept saying: “Piano, piano, piano”, urging everyone to slow down and stop the madness!

Once inside, there was no direct flow, which made it hard for people to make their way around to these exhibits. It was obvious that the Italian Paintings galleries were arranged chronologically while Gio Ponti’s exhibition was arranged by medium (furniture, decorative items, photographic collages/newspaper clippings/press releases/letters, etc.). There were only short paragraphs on the wall, describing the time period and influences of these painters, as well as photographs of Gio Ponti’s architectural successes from all over the world.

Being that this opening took place in one of the greatest fashion centers of the world, it was also interesting to note the kind of people that attended this event and what they wore. The majority of the populations were, of course, middle-aged Caucasian Italians who were extremely well-dressed (as if they were going to the opera or a fancy dinner) in the season’s latest fashions. The ballpark average age was older, probably around 40. A few families came with their children, and judging from the fact that most of these kids had their own cell phone, plus name brand clothing, indicated that this “leisure” event was definitely for the upper-middle class and beyond. A few exceptions included a small group of university art students and young professionals – also mostly Caucasian Italians, sporting the latest trends. As a result of their high status in society and level of education, there were many interesting and in depth conversations going on regarding art criticism and theory as well. Needless to say, Europeans are TONS more educated about the arts than Americans ever will be.

All in all, despite the lack of vino and other antipasti delights every show opening ought to have (especially in Italy), it was a worthwhile experience that I was happy to have experienced. Next time, I will try to join the VIP list. ☺

fenomeno Kandinsky

(please excuse the long pause in writing, but a few ephiphanies and prodings from dear friends made me realize that its high time to get those creative juices flowing... again).



"There is no must in art because art is free."


-- Wassily Kandinsky

Powerful. Poignant. An outpouring of the spirit. There are so many phrases and so many adjectives to describe the artistic oeuvre of Wassily Kandinsky, from his first Compositions and Improvisations to his more geometrically rendered shapes of his final years in Paris. His colors literally dance on and off the canvas, always communicating some sort of message to the masses. If you aren't careful, these colors can absorb you and tingle your insides, until you feel an explosion of energy coming from within. This, however, can only be the beginning of something incredible that does more than satisfy one's artistic taste buds. Perhaps I am a bit bias, because I consider Kandinsky to be one of my "art heros"... but in my opinion, any kind of art that grabs you and has the ability to move you in unimaginable ways can be denoted as "great art". Capito?

Exactly 60 years ago, in January of 1947, Milan's Palazzo Reale held an exhibition of great European modern artists, the first major show since the end of the second World War. Kandinsky was one of the artists represented; the other artists represented were mostly Italian: Bassi, Bonini, Licini, Mazzon, Munari, Rho, Ettore Sottsass and Veronesi. Up until 24 June 2007, curator Luciano Caramel has made it possible for art critics and fans alike to stand in the presence of Kandinsky's work, as well as the work of other Italian modern artists whom he influenced from 1930-1950. This show is entitled Kandinsky e l'astrattismo in Italia. Here, for the first time in Italy, viewers can see over 42 works by the Russian Expressionist master, including watercolors, oil on canvas and pastel.

The show was arranged [as expected] in a chronological order, starting with Kandinsky's early work (ie. Improvisations) and moving to the Bauhaus years, his collaboration with Paul Klee and his final years of painting in Paris. Text panels were available to the visitors in both English and Italian, giving a detailed and historical/cultural information about each period in Kandinsky's art career. The walls were painted in a slate grey-ish color, with bright flourescent lights shining down on the main *highlights* of the show -- which allowed viewers to really see every single detail painted. Quotes from Kandinsky's Concerning the Spiritual in Art filled the walls, giving visitors permission to stop and muse about his art on a deeper level. Besides historical facts, color was also another theme that was highly emphasized. Several rooms held the works in specific color schemes, such as "black-grey", "red-orange-yellow" and "blue-violet". These quotes were rendered on color circle panels, presenting a more theoretical approach to the usual chronology of events and famous works. I felt that this methodology could have been taken further, maybe dedicating the whole exhibition to what Kandinsky had to say about color theory. The traffic flow throughout the exhibition was all right, and I didn't get the audio guide because I don't like people telling me how to think and look at a piece of artwork.

The most brilliant set-up, however, can be found in the first gallery. There, Kandinsky's famous Composition VII (see picture above) is hung in a niche in the wall, as if it was floating, with a soft irredescent blue light along the borders and shining through the background. I wish I had my camera, so that I could have taken an illegal picture of it. In this case, the museum was indeed a muse -- sucking me into a state of deep reverence right in front of this very painting! To be honest, this was my favorite part of the show, and bearing previous knowledge of the heavy spiritual aspects behind Kandinsky's early work stabbed me in the chest and nearly drove me to the point of tears. Art can be powerful like that sometimes.

The rest of the show was not rendered quite as well. Although it was interesting to see the influence Kandinsky had on these "contemporaries", it was also a huge bombardment of images and wall text, which I must criticize, throw my hands up in frustration and ask what the need is to know every single detail about the artists' life/career and paste both Italian and English text panels side-by-side... overcrowding the already lack of wall space... and blocking the flow of traffic. To be honest, I zipped through this portion of the show and found it to be rather cold compared to the warm, embracing liveliness of dancing colors and shapes on Kandinsky's canvases.

Other notable highlights of the Kandinsky portion?

*Kochel, 1902
*Zigzag Blanc, 1922
*Movimento I, 1935

Considered by many to be the Father of Modern Expressionism, Kandinsky carries out his expression of the SOUL throughout his artistic career and even into the modern day. The revolution he started brought about lots of criticism from his peers and those in authority, but in the end paved the way for greater things to come. This is why even 60 years after Kandinsky graced Europe with his presence at the January 1947 exhibition, people are still talking about the legacy he left and those who have come to love his art the way it ought to be loved feel the need to carry this principle deeper into the 21st Century.

Viewing this show instilled a huge breath of fresh air to my nearly stagnant artistic exsistence, and forced me to think on a deeper level about how to successfully intertwine the beauty of art theory and exhibition installation once again. Heck, I even bought the catalogue.