Bologna, Basilica of San Petronio opens for first time to secular contemporary art with Joan Crous

For the first time,secular contemporary art is making its entrance into the Basilica of San Petronio in Bologna: starting Saturday, April 26, on the anniversary of the bombing of Guernica (1937) during the Spanish Civil War at the hands of German and Italian air forces, L’Ombra, a work by Catalan artist Joan Crous, an adopted Bolognese, will be premiered.

“This work is a great cry of pain that makes us feel what war means, anything but a video game but a storm that destroys everyone’s life,” says Bologna Archbishop and CEI president Matteo Maria Zuppi, promoter of the initiative that brings the installation to the Basilica dedicated to the city’s patron saint.

The Guernica massacre-which caused between 200 and 300 civilian deaths, although the precise number remains uncertain-inspired Pablo Picasso for his famous painting first exhibited on July 12, 1937 at the Paris Expo and now housed at the Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid. Joan Crous’ work draws sap from that very masterpiece and offers a personal reinterpretation of it entitled The Shadow.

Joan Crous, president of the Bologna-based social cooperative Eta Beta, will be present at the opening on Saturday, April 26 at 6:30 p.m. Introducing the work will be Monsignor Andrea Grillenzoni, primicerius of San Petronio, and art historian Milena Naldi. The event will continue with performances by Cor de Teatre, a Catalan company that combines chorus and theatrical performance, pianist Carmelo Travia and soprano Alessandra Catania. Arriving from Catalonia for the occasion will be the president of the Diputació of Girona and mayor of Banyoles, Miquel Noguer, and Lluís Coromina, president of the Barcelona cultural foundation of the same name.

The Shadow will be placed in the right aisle of the Basilica, next to the Sundial and in front of the celebrated 15th-century frescoes by Giovanni da Modena in the Chapel of the Magi.

The work will be on view free of charge until June 29 every day during the Basilica’s opening hours, from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and 3 to 6:30 p.m.

During the exhibition period, which will last more than two months, The Shadow: City of Men will also be the focus of a series of evening events including music, poetry, readings and meetings. The first event is scheduled for Sunday, May 12 at 8:30 p.m., with a concert by Roberta Giallo, preceded by a critical analysis of the work by Roberta Tosi, Davide Rondoni, and accompanied by music by Teo Ciavarella and the band Santa Balera.

The exhibition was organized in collaboration with the Cenacolo delle Arti and with the support of Emil Banca, Legacoop, Moreno Motori, Teleimpianti and Arredart. The catalog will be published at the end of the exhibition by publisher Lamberto Fabbri.

Pictured: Joan Crous, The Shadow: the city of men.

Bologna, Basilica of San Petronio opens for first time to secular contemporary art with Joan Crous

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