An exhibition in Trieste on early 20th century artists' fascination with African art

An exhibition on early 20th century artists’ fascination withAfrican art. Scheduled in Trieste, in the Carlo Sbisà Room of Warehouse 26 in the Old Port, from March 25 to July 30, 2023, is the exhibition The Myth of African Art in the 1900s. From Picasso to Man Ray, Calder to Basquiat and Matisse, featuring 50 European artworks and more than 100 plastic and sculptural works from sub-Saharan Africa, selected by curators Vincenzo Sanfo, Anna Alberghina and Bruno Albertino. Produced by Navigare in co-production with Diffusione e Cultura and promoted by the City of Trieste with the support of Trieste Convention and Visitors Bureau and PromoTurismoFVG, the exhibition begins with a display of about 100 African artworks including sculptures, masks and objects, divided into nine themes: Fertility and Motherhood, Fertility Dolls, The Cult of Twins, Masks, Ancestors, Magical Figures, Funeral Art, Headrests, and Objects of Use.

The sculptures belong in their entirety to the Collection of curators Bruno Albertino and Anna Alberghina and are the result of more than 30 years of traveling, collecting and studying the subject. The different themes are introduced by backlit photos, evocative of the culture of African peoples, taken by Anna Alberghina in those very places, which are useful to bring the visitor into the life of African peoples. Also offered are videos, shot by the curators themselves, about rites and customs of some peoples: dances, ceremonies, magic rites and even daily life.

The second part is devoted to the exhibition of about 50 works of art from the 20th century, in which the immortal aspect of African myth is perfectly captured, with a large section devoted to Picasso with drawings, lithographs, and ceramics. Then it continues with works by Matisse, Calder, Gauguin, and Man Ray, up to the more contemporary Mimmo Paladino, Basquiat, and Xu de Qi. Interest in African art began in 1906, when Henri Matisse and other artists began collecting African works and using those styles in their art. At that time Paris became the center of the market for African art, and major art dealers such as Paul Guillaume, Charles Ratton, and Joseph Brummer helped to promote it and increase its popularity. Parisian avant-garde artists embarked on a path of research, which in some cases gave rise to revolutionary artistic currents, foremost among them Cubism. Picasso, its founder, produced Les demoiselles d’Avignon (1907), not only the manifesto of the Cubist movement but a work that features, among others, female figures with faces perfectly likened to African masks. African art also fascinates, seduces and brings modern and contemporary artists closer to a sense of spirituality and mysticism, as is evident in many other works of art, created from the 20th century to the present day.

“Starting from Picasso’s experiences,” says curator Vincenzo Sanfo, "this exhibition takes us up to the present day by traversing paths that have in common a vision of art that draws from the essentiality of African forms inspiration, generating Matisse’s papier-decoupes, Keith Haring’s tribal decorations, Man Ray’s surreal visions, Calder’s joyful figures juxtaposed with Basquiat’s constructive fury. As well as the irreverent masks of Enrico Baj, the luminous visions of Marco Lodola and the incursions of Marco Nereo Rotelli, accompanied by the Picassian erasure of the Chinese Xu Deqi. An itinerary“-concludes Sanfo-”the one designed for this exhibition, essential but exhaustive of how much African art has contributed and continues to contribute to the evolution of Western art."

Thanks to the tourist tax, a promotion is active for which those who stay at least one night in the city, booking directly at the accommodation facilities participating in the promotion, will receive a free ticket to the exhibition. All info at: www.discover-trieste.it

Hours: Tuesday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Last admission 30 minutes before closing. Indicative duration of the visit: 1:15 h. Tickets: full price €13.00 on weekends and holidays, €11.00 on weekdays, concessions (available exclusively at the ticket office) €9.00 for under 14, over 65, journalists, conventions, university students, disabled and accompanying persons, concessions for schools €4.00, concessions for groups over 10 people €7.00, Open ticket €15.00 (Skip-the-line admission + limited edition poster). Free for children up to 6 years old. Info and ticketing: (+39) 351 355 8588. Reservations: https://www.navigaresrl.com/mostra/il-mito-dellarte-africana-del-900/

An exhibition in Trieste on early 20th century artists' fascination with African art

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