Mantua, Giulio Romano's Pescherie reopen with exhibition project on art as weaving of the everyday

The Pescherie di Giulio Romano in Mantua, after the recent restoration of this historic space to the city, presents the exhibition project Cucire il tempo, curated by Stefano Baia Curioni and Melina Mulas, and dedicated to the theme ofart as weaving the everyday.

Starting from a reflection on Maria Lai’s art, the exhibition brings together and exhibits to the public the research of six Italian artists: Sonia Costantini and Maria Lai (Sept. 7 - Sept. 26, 2021), Marta Allegri and Irene Lanza (Sept. 28 - Oct. 17, 2021), and Rosanna Bianchi Piccoli and Antonella Zazzera (Oct. 19 - Nov. 7, 2021).

Promoted by the Municipality of Mantua, Fondazione Palazzo Te and Fondazione le Pescherie di Giulio Romano, in collaboration with Archivio Maria Lai and Amici di Palazzo Te e dei Musei Mantovani, with the contribution PIC | Regione Lombardia and with the graphic project of Corraini Edizioni, the exhibition was born from an intuition of Melina Mulas: “I had the good fortune to know some women artists, I met them because I looked for them, attracted by the spiritual dimension of their research, in their doing. Each one, in a different way, transforms and alchemizes the themes and time of their lives, as if they were weavers.”

Weaving, nesting, childhood, listening, fairy tale, storytelling, silence and roots are some of the words for understanding the work of these artists, focused on the subtle connection of capturing in creation, of bringing in matter: observation requires a certain kind of listening.

From September 7 to 26, 2021, the first stage of the project will be held, which will present the unpublished monochromes D5 white and AA19-15 blue J.S.B. by Mantuan painter Sonia Costantini in dialogue with a selection of works by Maria Lai from the 1990s, a period in which she returned to live in Sardinia after her long stay in Rome, continuing to experiment with traditional and new materials and to create frames, books and sheets, including the one exhibited in Mantua together with the series War Frame for the first time shown to the public.

Alongside these works, director Tonino Casula ’s video will be presented documenting the relational action on the territory Legarsi alla montagna (Bound to the Mountain), carried out by Maria Lai in 1981 in Ulassai with the villagers.

On the occasion of the review, Tuesday, Sept. 7 at 6 p.m. at the Spazio Te in Palazzo Te (reservations at spaziote@fondazionepalazzote.it) is scheduled for an in-depth conference on Maria Lai’s work with Elena Pontiggia and Maria Sofia Pisu Lai.

From Sept. 28 to Oct. 17, it will be the turn of Marta Allegri’s disused architectural textures and Irene Lanza’s sea-carried irons; while from Oct. 19 to Nov. 7, 2021, the mysteries of Rosanna Bianchi Piccoli’s porcelain bisque embroideries and Antonella Zazzera’s layered copper threads.

In conjunction with the exhibition, from Wednesday, September 8 to Sunday, September 12, Arte sull’Acqua also returns, in its 17th edition: the contemporary art event on the Rio curated by the association Non Capovolgere Arte Contemporanea, which has always supported the Pescherie. Protagonists will be the installations of Lorella Salvagni and Antonella De Nisco, who will dialogue with the music of Elena Terragnoli every night from 9 to 11 p.m. The event is presented by Donata Negrini’s critical text; organization and staging are by Ambra Alario.

Info: www.fondazionepalazzote.it

Hours: Friday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., or by appointment segreteria@fondazionepalazzote.it. Free admission. Special openings from Sept. 8 to 12 during Festivaletteratura: Wednesdays and Thursdays from 4 to 8 p.m.

Image: Maria Lai, Frame of War, detail(1991; series of 5 works; paper, ink, thread, 52 x 62 cm; Gorgonzola, Private Collection). Courtesy Maria Lai Archive by Siae 2021

Mantua, Giulio Romano's Pescherie reopen with exhibition project on art as weaving of the everyday

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