Off the Radar Series: Galleria d'Arte Moderna di Roma Capitale

Once called "Galleria Mussolini," now a refurbished grand display of 20th-
Century Italian - mainly Roman -  art

We found ourselves running out of time in an excellent exhibit of 20th-century Italian art at the often overlooked Galleria d'Arte Moderna di Roma Capitale - i.e., the City's Modern (as in before "contemporary" - before MACRO) Art Gallery.

A discrete, if not proper, photo of the current exhibition.

Until recently, the museum was a kind of backwater - in an art sense, not location.  It's up via Francesco Crispi from Gagosian's, and only a few blocks from the Spanish Steps.  But after an almost 10-year closure and renovation (and not the first decades-long closure in its history), it can now hold its own in Rome's dynamic 20th- and 21st-century art scene. 

The last two shows we have seen there have been astoundingly well curated and fascinating.  The collection - of 20th-century Rome art - is very good, perhaps better than the gallery's glitzier cousins - MACRO and MAXXI - who blew their patronage on their buildings.

Locations of galleries, cafes, and
hang-outs of the artists and writers
are on this map.

The current show features the interplay of Italian literature and art, beginning with Gabriele D'Annunzio and continuing through Alberto Moravia.  The panels and placards are all in both English and Italian. 

A 1923 vase by Cambellotti

The D'Annunzio room is titled "between Symbolism and Decadence." Both terms are apt for this World War I hero turned Fascist aviator and poet.  Bill's post 2 years ago explored decadence in Italian culture, and featured D'Annunzio.  Several bronze pieces by Duilio Cambellotti in the "Liberty" style (a movement akin to Art Nouveau, but moving slightly into Art Deco in Italy) are on display in this room.  We came across Cambellotti in an exhibit a few years ago at Villa Torlonia, where some of his work is found permanently in the Casina delle Civette (on Itinerary 8 in Rome the Second Time).

Ferruccio Ferrazzi, "Fragment
of Composition," 1920-21

The material on Luigi Pirandello, writer of "Six Characters in Search of an Author," and considered one of the first absurdist playwrights, speaks cogently of his questioning of the self and the absurdity of the human condition.  Several large paintings of the period (mainly the 1920s) are displayed with quotes from Pirandello that the curator has selected.  A couple of the paintings feature a person examining himself or herself in a mirror.


We have seen a lot of Futurist exhibits in Rome and so won't add much here, except to say that part of a room is devoted to the father of Italian Futurism, Filippo Tommaso Marinetti (who, despite his bellicose views, intrigued Yoko Ono) and the "sensation of flight" paintings.

Giacomo Manzu', Girl on a chair,
1955, bronze

The rest we leave for you to discover, pointing out that the gallery has works by Giulio Aristide Sartorio,  Giacomo Balla, Scipione, Mario Mafai, Afro, Arturo Martini, and Giorgio Morandi, among others.  The curating is excellent.  Don't miss the sculpture court on the first floor.

The current exhibition runs through September 29. 

The Galleria d'Arte Moderna's Web site is excellent, although most of it is not translated from Italian.

The gallery is open Tuesday- Sunday 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., last admission 30 minutes before closing.  It closes at 2 p.m. on Christmas and New Year's Eves, and is closed, in addition to Mondays, January 1, May 1 and December 35.

Dianne

Yoko Ono Comes to Rome and Sees the Future

As loyal readers know, we love vernissages, where the Romans turn out at art galleries for a bit of wine, snacks, and people-watching in addition to examining the art.  One of this year's better vernissages, that covers all those bases, is Yoko Ono's installation in the Trastevere section of Rome. 

Ono recently got turned on by the Futurists at the Tate Modern's (London) vast exhibit.  Some of the Futurist Manifesto "hit my eyes," she says, and "my eyes rapidly became filled with tears and I could not read on."  The slogans of the Futurists spoke to her:  "sing the love of danger, the habit of energy and fearlessness... Courage, audacity, and resolve will be essential elements of our poetry"  - "Exactly!" she adds. 

Ono's exhibit in Rome features a wall-size photo of the major Futurist figures (see above) plus some objects, including her red hat, John's glasses, and a fish wrapped in Le Figaro, the French paper that published the Manifesto (written by Marinetti) in 1909, making the movement an international sensation.  The gallery space she chose was the small one where Futurist artists like Boccioni, Carra' and Severini (with Marinetti and Russolo in the large photo) exhibited their work in the first part of the last century.  She spread camphour on the floor - you know, the smell of moth balls.  We'll let you figure out what that meant.  I was overcome by the smell and took my wine outside - to engage in the intense people watching (photo) ala Romans - leaning against someone's car, propping the wine glass on a car roof  - a perfect summer evening. 

The installation is open until October 30, at Studio Stefania Miscetti, via Delle Mantellate 14, in Trastevere.

Dianne