ALDO ROSSI. The Idea of Dwelling
curated by Claudia Tinazzi (Verona, 1981), Politecnico di Milano.
The definition of dwelling space through a selection of projects by architect Aldo Rossi (1931–1997). From private homes to the Gallaratese district, to unrealized projects like the Student House in Chieti, from the Cabins on Elba Island to the Abandoned House, visitors will explore Rossi’s process through photographs by Gabriele Basilico and Luigi Ghirri, original materials from the Aldo Rossi Foundation, and architectural models specially created for the exhibition.
ALBERTO MARTINI. A Revolutionary in Installments
curated by Federica Nurchis (Bergamo, 1984), Università degli Studi di Milano.
Alberto Martini (1931–1965): the brief yet compelling story of an art critic who died at 34 but was responsible for a cultural revolution. Set in a 1960s atmosphere, the exhibition recounts the “fateful” meeting between Martini and Dino Fabbri (1922–2001), which gave rise, exactly fifty years ago, to I Maestri del Colore, a series of booklets that turned art history into a mass phenomenon—no longer reserved for an educated elite but distributed through newsstands, while maintaining high scholarly standards and featuring a remarkable custom-made color photographic apparatus. On display: original documents from the Martini Archive and a selection of drawings, prints, sculptures, and paintings by artist friends (Ottone Rosai, Mino Maccari, Renato Guttuso, Carlo Carrà, Gianfranco Ferroni, Emilio Tadini, Luciano Minguzzi, Mattia Moreni…) as well as a rare oil painting attributed by Martini to Medardo Rosso. Also included are letters, unpublished essays, original drawings, and photographs documenting the friendships between Alberto Martini, Giorgio Morandi, and Alberto Giacometti.
GUIDO GUIDI. My Carlo Scarpa
curated by Giulia Lambertini (Reggio Emilia, 1983), Università Cattolica di Milano.
Since the early 1960s, photographer Guido Guidi (1941) has embarked on an ongoing journey of discovery through his photographic interpretation of the works of architect Carlo Scarpa (1906–1978), his first and most important mentor in Venice. Thanks to original photographs filled with handwritten notes, preserved at the Centro Internazionale di Studi di Architettura Andrea Palladio (CISA) in Vicenza, visitors embark on a surprising journey: from the Olivetti Showroom in St. Mark’s Square to the Canova Plaster Cast Gallery in Possagno, from the Palazzo Abatellis Museum (which houses the famous Annunciata by Antonello da Messina) to the Castelvecchio Museum in Verona—one of the world’s most admired and emulated museum installations—culminating in the Brion Tomb Complex in San Vito di Altivole (TV), Carlo Scarpa’s architectural testament.
GIACOMO POZZI-BELLINI. A Photographer Between Art and Life
curated by Carlotta Crosera (Vigevano, 1980), Università degli Studi di Milano.
The work of Giacomo Pozzi-Bellini (1907–1990), a great photographer and documentary filmmaker, is presented through a gallery of his photographic portraits, narrating a life of friendships and encounters with some of the leading figures of twentieth-century cultural history, including Eugenio Montale, Carlo Emilio Gadda, Vittorio De Sica, Emilio Cecchi, Alberto Arbasino, Jean Genet, and Jean Renoir. Featured in the exhibition is the documentary Il Pianto delle Zitelle (1939), the sole testament to his work as a director, presented in its original version (without the cuts imposed by fascist censorship) which earned him first prize at the Venice Film Festival. Rounding out the portrait are his large art photographs—which became the favored ground for Pozzi-Bellini’s experimental work—and the visual narrative of his partnership with critic Giovanni Testori, whose interpretation of art, and painting in particular, was deeply connected to that of Pozzi-Bellini.