New American realism on display at Palazzo Barberini, with works from the collection of Tony and Elham Salamé

The National Galleries of Ancient Art at Palazzo Barberini in Rome, in collaboration with Aïshti Foundation in Beirut, present the exhibition Night Effect: New American Realism, curated by Massimiliano Gioni and Flaminia Gennari Santori, from April 14 to July 14, 2024. The exhibition takes its title from a work by New York-based artist Lorna Simpson. Day For Night (Night Effect) is a cinematic trick that makes it possible to film night scenes during the day. The title was made famous by a 1973 film by Francois Truffaut: the Night Effect translates into French as “Nuit Américaine,” the American night: an image that recalls the chiaroscuro visions of the artists in the exhibition who have captured the reality of America in all its complexity in recent decades.

The public will thus be able to see more than 150 works on display, all from the collection of Aïshti Foundation, among the most important contemporary art institutions on the international scene, founded twenty-five years ago by Italian-Lebanese entrepreneur Tony Salamé and his wife Elham.

Palazzo Barberini will host a selection of works by artists active in the United States, such as Cecily Brown, George Condo, Nicole Eisenman, Urs Fischer, Wade Guyton, Julie Mehretu, Richard Prince, Charles Ray, David Salle, Dana Schutz, Cindy Sherman, Lorna Simpson, Henry Taylor, Christopher Wool, and many others, whose work grapples with the question of realism and the representation of truth. Alongside the work of important predecessors who anticipated recent reflections on the concept of realism and representation, emerging artists will also be exhibited.

The itinerary starts in the twelve rooms of the Spazio Mostre on the ground floor and then continues in some monumental rooms on the piano nobile - Atrio Bernini, Sala Ovale, Sala Marmi and Atrio Borromini - and finally concludes in the so-called Appartamento del Settecento, a Rococo interior on the second floor of Palazzo Barberini, which on the occasion of the exhibition will be open to the public continuously for the first time.

Hours: Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Closed Mondays. Visits to the part of the exhibition set up in the Eighteenth-century Apartment, due to needs related to conservation and protection of the space, will be subject to a quota and 25 people will be admitted at a time. In addition, this part of the tour is not accessible to people with mobility disabilities.

New American realism on display at Palazzo Barberini, with works from the collection of Tony and Elham Salamé

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