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4/9/2008

Carmelo Zotti and his Students

Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art - MMSU, Fiume (Rijeka)

A series of exhibitions – a tribute to Carmelo Zotti in Rijeka, Piran, Koper, and Venice

Authors of the exhibition: Brigitte Brand, Nataša Ivančević, Dejan Mehmedovič

This international and inter-institutional project, an important trilateral tribute to Carmelo Zotti paid by his students from Croatia, Slovenia, and Italy begins with the exhibition in the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rijeka. This initiative, apart from the Rijeka Museum, includes Piran Coastal Galleries (Slovenia) and the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice (Italy). The moving force of the entire project is the artist Brigitte Brand, Zottis wife, who was involved in the project from its beginnings in 2006, when it was initiated in a conversation between Branko Franceschi, Giuliana Carbi, Franco Jesurun from Trieste Contemporanea, and master Zotti. Unfortunately, Carmelo Zotti died in May 2007, without having seen the realisation of the idea of gathering his favourite students, which he was very enthusiastic about. The whole event was conceived according to his initial instructions and it includes two Ministries of Culture, four Cities, three institutions, five exhibition venues, six curators, and twenty artists-students.

The backbone of the exhibition is the presentation of the rich painterly and drawing work of the renowned Italian artist of Greek origin, Carmelo Zotti (Trieste 1933 – 2007). A part of his drawing work in large format will be exhibited for the first time. At the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice Zotti headed the Painting Department from 1973 to 1990. In the international environment of the Venice Academy, in Zotti’s Department, along with the prevailing Italian artists, many students from Slovenia and Croatia perfected their skills – especially the ones from Rijeka and Istria. In spite of Zotti’s inclination to figurative painting, abundant in symbolical, mythological, and ritual topics, art works by his students show multidisciplinary approach and contemporary problematization of visual expression. This speaks in favour of the thesis about tolerant and open teacher’s approach to his students, which created a very inspiring environment for the examination of their personal artistic motives and interests.

The curators of the exhibition Zotti and His Students – Dino Marangon for Zotti’s works, Nataša Ivančević for Croatian, Dejan Mehmedovič for Slovenian, and Franco Tagliapietra for Zotti’s Italian students – have conceived three phases of the exhibition, which after its premiere at Rijeka’s MMSU will be presented in Piran’s Coastal Galleries and the City Loggia in Koper to finally move into the premises of the historical Magazzini del Sale and the Correr Museum in Venice. In the memory of outstanding human qualities of their teacher, taking part in the project was enthusiastically embraced by Croatian artists Zlatko Kopljar, Zdravko Milić, Miljenka Šepić, Robert Sošić, Mauro Stipanov, and Vlado Zrnić, Slovenian artists Toni Biloslav, Bojan Bole, Slavko Furlan, Živko I. Marušič, and Ljubo Radovac, as well as Italian artists Mirella Brugnerotto, Diana Ferrara, Sergej Glinkov, Pope Galli, Daniela Rizzetto, Mauro Sambo, Paolo Sandano, Davide Skerlj, and Giorgio Valvassori.

The multilingual catalogue accompanying this project is introduced by a comprehensive essay by Dino Marangon who writes about Carmelo Zotti’s Mythical painting, which is then followed by critical comments by curators of the exhibition’s three phases. Specially emphasized is Carmelo Zotti’s teaching activity, who markedly attempted to leave enough creative freedom to his students. Their exhibited works prove this by their diversity that varies – as expressed by the title of Nataša Ivančević’s text – “... from two-dimensional to digital”. The interview of Carlo Montanaro, Dean of the Venice Academy, with Giuliana Carbi at the beginning of the catalogue speaks about the vigour of constant experimenting taking place at the Academy and the historical contribution of Zotti’s Department – laboratory.

The publishers of the catalogue are: Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Rijeka, Piran Coastal Galleries, Academy of Fine Arts, Venice Authors of the texts are: Brigitte Brand, Carlo Montanaro, Giuliana Carbi, Dino Marangon, Franco Tagliapietra, Nataša Ivančević, and Dejan Mehmedovič Editor of the catalogue: Nataša Ivančević Exhibition set-up: Brigitte Brand, Nataša Ivančević, Milica Dilas

Opening: Sept. 5th, 2008 at 8 p.m.

Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art - MMSU
Dolac 1/II - Fiume (Rijeka)

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