Istituto Italiano di cultura
London
39 Belgrave Square
02072351461 FAX 02072354618
WEB
Pordenone Montanari
dal 20/9/2010 al 5/10/2010
Mon-Fri 10am-8pm; Sa-Sun 10am-4pm

Segnalato da

Alice Bebington


approfondimenti

Pordenone Montanari



 
calendario eventi  :: 




20/9/2010

Pordenone Montanari

Istituto Italiano di cultura, London

On show the works of Montanari: a surprising discovery and a real addition to the history of Twentieth Century Italian painting. For the relatively unknown artist, now in his seventies, this exhibition is the first on public display.


comunicato stampa

curated by Rossana Pittelli and Edward Lucie-Smith

A series of over fifty of Montanari’s witty, modernist works, selected from a much larger cache of paintings and drawings found in a remote villa in the Piedmont region of Italy, will be displayed, on loan from the private art collection of the venture capital firm, DAR Capital. In spite of a sell-out exhibition in Milan in 1986, when paintings were bought by the CreditCommerciale Bank, Société Générale, and Banca Rosenberg, Montanari dramatically retired from public life and sought to focus on his art. He withdrew not only to the countryside, but behind the high facade of his rural eyrie and, for 18 years, proceeded to work in solitary confinement.

The current exhibition will be the first time that Montanari’s work from this period has been on public display. During his hermetic retreat, nobody really knew what Montanari was up to; only that he might be a painter. Raffaele Micheletti, the local Mayor of the province recalls, "For many years we respected the privacy of the inhabitants of the villa. We knew it was inhabited, but we never saw Montanari, only his wife occasionally. We had no idea that we had in our midst such a talented artist.
Now that we do know the extent of his talent, we are extremely proud of what he has achieved."

Three years ago, a local resident, Cinzia Albertini, discovered stacks of the artist’s finished canvases when she enquired about a ‘for sale’ sign in front of the artist’s villa. Since then, having bought the house, she has built up a friendship with Montanari and his wife which, over time, has led to an introduction to Arun Rangachari, Chairman of DAR Capital Group, a boutique investment advisory and private equity firm with business interests in India, the Middle East and Africa. A core group of paintings by Montanari now forms part of DAR Capital’s commitment to develop a significant collection of contemporary art. DAR also has exclusive rights to the entire artistic estate of Montanari. Rangachari, who takes a personal interest in this project says, "It is rare to find such an impressive portfolio by a relatively unknown artist now in his seventies. This exhibition will be co-curated by Dr Rossana Pittelli from the Italian Institute and the art critic Edward Lucie-Smith, who has spent time at the villa where Montanari lived. "

Montanari is a surprising discovery and a real addition to the history of Twentieth Century Italian painting” says Lucie-Smith, “Pordenone Montanari has produced work that does not fit the profile most art historians have of painting from this time. He is clearly not linked to any of the major Italian Twentieth Century art movements – not even the most recent ones, such as the Transavantgarde or La Pittura Colta. His links are essentially with the Ecole deParis and, let us, say, the grand highway of High Modernist figurative art. He is unique as an Italian figurative painter of his generation because he is in full dialogue with the major masters of Modernism, notably Pablo Picasso, Pierre Bonnard and, surprisingly, Francis Bacon. Yet he is at the same time fully respectful of Italian Renaissance ad Baroque traditions."

With the support of the Provincia di Biella

Opening Tuesday 21st September 2010, 7pm

Italian Cultural Institute
39 Belgrave Square, London
Hours: Monday – Friday 10am – 8pm
Saturday – Sunday 9am – 4pm
Free admission

IN ARCHIVIO [23]
Pre-Pop and Pop: The 50s and 60s in Italy
dal 13/9/2015 al 14/10/2015

Attiva la tua LINEA DIRETTA con questa sede