translated and summarized by: Liz Wollner-Grandville,
250509: Scuderie del Quirinale: Futurismo, Avanguardia-Avanguardie
Scuderie del Quirinale: Futurismo, Avanguardia-Avanguardie
States of mind and persistent noise
The number of major futuristic paintings not displayed at the exhibition “Futurismo. Avanguardia – Avanguardie”, is relatively limited. Umberto Boccioni’s “Study for the Laugh”, his “Modern Idol”, the “States of Mind”: all there. And Carlo Carrà’s “Funeral of the Anarchist Galli”, Gino Serverini’s “Boulevard”, Giacomo Balla’s “Girl on the Balcony”, and Luigi Russolo’s “Revolte”: also there.
The works are arranged according to the topics “light”, “sound, noise, smell”, “tempi and rhythm”, “power lines” and “dynamisms”. This not only meets the requirements of movement; the similarities of the style of individual artists also become apparent. For example in Carrà’s “Funeral of the Anarchist Galli” and in Boccioni’s “States of Mind” – both works are juxtaposed. The artistic virtuosity is evident in Boccioni’s “Quelli che vanno”, in which mask-like faces with closed eyes seem to be hacked to pieces by whipped brush strokes, and in “Quelli che restano” a layer of vines - or something similar –slowly cover a trudging group of figures; these are all artistic sensations.
However, appreciating the works is restrained by the sloppy lighting, the wall colours, which, to put it mildly, take getting used to, and the persistent alarm sounds, which are nerve-racking.
The exhibit spans across two floors; but it is exaggerated to present all other avant-garde trends- even if there are admittedly some outstanding pieces among them. Thereby the exhibit is more of a gallop through the historic avant-garde, which - on the one hand, is too small to offer a significantly new insight, and on the other – is too large, to simply complement the actual topic of the exhibition.
Futuristic sculptures and architecture, poetry and theory, music and photography – aside from a few exceptions – were completely omitted. The exhibition title should much rather be “Futuristic Painting”. Under this premise, the exhibit is top class and nearly complete.
By Nina Schedlmayer
Rome, Via XXIV Maggio 16, until 25.5.09
www.scuderieguirinale.it
250509
Scuderie del Quirinale
Rom, Via XXIV Maggio 16
Tel: +39 06 39967500
Email: info.sdg@palexpo.it
http://www.scuderiequirinale.it
Öffnungszeiten: So-Do 10-20, Fr, Sa 10-22.30
Scuderie del Quirinale
Rom, Via XXIV Maggio 16
Tel: +39 06 39967500
Email: info.sdg@palexpo.it
http://www.scuderiequirinale.it
Öffnungszeiten: So-Do 10-20, Fr, Sa 10-22.30