Milan, a new space for contemporary art is born: it is the Maria Cristina Carlini Foundation

There is a new space for contemporary art in Milan. It is the Maria Cristina Carlini Foundation, dedicated to the enhancement of contemporary sculpture and the celebration of the career of Milanese sculptor Maria Cristina Carlini (Varese, 1942), who with more than fifty years of activity has long worked in the international art scene. Under the scientific direction of Flaminio Gualdoni, a renowned art critic and historian, the Foundation aims to be a place of encounter, study and conservation.

Located at 97 Via Savona, in a former industrial plant converted into a cultural hub, the venue offers a broad view of Carlini’s work. The multifunctional environment houses works that unfold between indoor spaces and the outdoor garden, creating a continuous dialogue between art and the environment.

“The Maria Cristina Carlini Foundation,” says Flaminio Gualdoni, “begins its official activity, and is the result of a long and tenacious work dedicated to restoring in its full value the half-century in which the artist has carried out her activity, which is still ongoing and characterized by highly significant experiences. Born a ceramist in an immediately international context, thus only partly linked to the Italian debate, Carlini identifies in clay above all the atavistic value of matter, and in the architectural dimension, in dialogue with other materials, its natural place. The Maria Cristina Carlini Foundation now clothes her works with the discourse necessary to understand them fully. It is a physical place, placed very appropriately close to the workshop where the artist conceived and worked, in which all documents related to her work are neatly preserved, made available for consultation to the public of scholars, enthusiasts, and the merely curious, alongside the more general bibliography relating to the culture of her time and the relations Carlini had with her own time. And it is a digital place where the now vast amount of his sculptures is documented in part, the result of a punctual and painstaking work of identification, reconstruction, and framing of every single passage.”

An archive of memory and innovation

The fulcrum of the Foundation is its archive, which collects and constantly updates the sculptor’s entire production. Catalogs, documents, videos and testimonies allow visitors to explore Maria Cristina Carlini’s artistic journey, revealing the indissoluble link between her personality and her art. This documentation is not limited to a simple chronological account: it is a journey between memory and innovation, elements central to the artist’s poetics.

Carlini began his artistic journey in the 1970s, attending a ceramics course in Palo Alto, California. Since then, her language has evolved through the use of different materials - stoneware, porcelain, corten steel, reclaimed wood - in a continuous dialogue between tradition and modernity.

Maria Cristina Carlini’s works explore universal themes, such as the relationship with the earth, a symbol of collective and individual memory, and the fragility of nature. Her sculptures, often monumental, juxtapose heterogeneous materials to create a subtle balance between lightness and strength. This call for reflection on environmental preservation and a sense of belonging makes his work deeply relevant today.

An emblematic example is theObelisk, a monumental sculpture donated to the city of Milan in 2024 and visible just a few steps from the Foundation. This work synthesizes the artist’s language: the majesty of the form combines with the strength of the message, in a union that fascinates and invites contemplation.

Events and exhibitions for the future

In addition to the archives, the Foundation offers a calendar full of events, lectures and temporary exhibitions, with the aim of stimulating a lively dialogue on contemporary art. The program is designed to engage scholars, young artists and enthusiasts, offering new insights into the world of sculpture and its infinite expressive possibilities.

Maria Cristina Carlini has exhibited her works in prestigious contexts, from Europe to the United States to China, earning a prominent place in contemporary art. The Foundation, strongly desired by the artist, represents another step in her commitment to share and promote sculpture as a means of cultural reflection.

Admission is free, currently visits are by appointment only: phone 349 1813179, info@fondazionemariacristinacarlini.it

Milan, a new space for contemporary art is born: it is the Maria Cristina Carlini Foundation

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