Major exhibition on Lucio Fontana in Albissola Marina to commemorate his deep connection with the city

Albissola Marina is the site of an important exhibition dedicated to Lucio Fontana (Rosario, 1899 - Comabbio, 1968), who was deeply attached to the Ligurian town: in fact, he moved here to further his study of ceramics (which, as is well known, is a local tradition), and then opened a studio in Albissola Marina in the ancient Piazza Pozzo Garitta. Today, several of his works are preserved in the city’s museums and spaces.

The exhibition is entitled Birth of Matter. Lucio Fontana and Albisola and runs from Aug. 2 to Dec. 2, 2018 at the three venues of Albissola Marina’s MuDa, Savona ’s Palazzo Gavotti Art Museum and Savona’s Museum of Ceramics. The exhibition, curated by Luca Bochicchio, intends to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Lucio Fontana’s death, and its title refers to a definition coined in 1963 by art critic Enrico Crispolti (author and also curator of the general catalog of Fontana’s work), who acted as scientific supervisor for this occasion, together with Paola Valenti, a professor at the University of Genoa.

The Albissola section intends to document the relationship between Fontana and Albissola’s artisans, as well as between the artist and the city, from his first sculptural experiments in ceramics, made in 1936 at the Giuseppe Mazzotti factory in Albissola Marina, to his last spatialist research, and his environmental interventions (such as the Nature on the Lungomare degli Artisti, for example). A selection of ceramic sculptures from public and private Italian collections will be on display at the MuDA Exhibition Center in Albissola Marina: among the works are the Woman with Flower (1948) on loan from MART in Rovereto, and the Spatial Concepts from MIC in Faenza, which will be placed in dialogue with the White Lady(Woman with Dove, 1953) owned by the City of Albissola Marina, as well as the four panels made by Fontana in 1949 as architectural decoration for the liner Conte Grande(here an in-depth look at the Conte Grande panels).

In addition, starting from the main section of MuDA, the public will be able to visit “Fontana’s places” in the Albisole (Albissola Marina and Albisola Superiore), but also in Celle Ligure (Church of the Assumption) and Varazze (Kursaal Restaurant) thanks to a map that will function as a guide to the permanent works or special installations at Pozzo Garitta (Studio Fontana now Studio Gianluca Peluffo & Partners), Lungomare degli Artisti, Bar Testa, Casa Museo Jorn, Ceramiche Mazzotti, Fondazione Museo G. Mazzotti 1903, Ceramiche San Giorgio, Balestrini Centro Cultura Arte Contemporanea, Giardino Pacetti (Studio Ernan Design). In the two museums in Savona, educational insights will enhance Fontana’s works owned by the “Milena Milani Foundation in memory of Carlo Cardazzo” on display at Palazzo Gavotti, while at the Museum of Ceramics some significant plates decorated by Fontana will dialogue with the excellence of the production of Albisola workshops from the early 20th century to the 1960s.

The exhibition is organized by the City of Albissola Marina, in collaboration and with the support of the Cento Fiori Foundation, DIRAAS University of Genoa, Lucio Fontana Foundation and MIC of Faenza, with the generous contribution of the Agostino De Mari Foundation. Media partner Espoarte. Sponsorship: Liguria Region, city of Savona, city of Albisola Superiore. For info visit the website of MuDa in Albissola Marina.

Image: Lucio Fontana, Waiting (1960; water paint on canvas, 55 x 46 cm; Savona, Palazzo Gavotti Art Museum, Coll. Milena Milani in memory of Carlo Cardazzo).

Major exhibition on Lucio Fontana in Albissola Marina to commemorate his deep connection with the city

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