Palazzo Medici Riccardi traces the history of grunge music and Kurt Cobain

From July 2 to October 18, 2020 Palazzo Medici Riccardi in Florence presents the photographic exhibition Peterson - Lavine. Come as You Are: Kurt Cobain and the Grunge Revolution, curated by ONO contemporary art, organized and promoted by OEO Firenze Art and Le Nozze di Figaro, in collaboration with Città Metropolitana di Firenze, Comune di Firenze and MUS.E.

On display will be more than eighty photographs, including some previously unpublished ones, which aim to trace the history of the grunge music scene and that of Kurt Cobain, a symbol of the American counterculture of the 1990s.

The exhibition will be divided into two sections: on the one hand, images by Charles Peterson, the official photographer of Sub Pop Records, illustrating the birth of Nirvana, concerts and the grunge scene in Seattle; on the other hand, shots by Michael Lavine, a renowned advertising photographer, testifying to the posed shoots and magazine pictures taken.

Michael Lavine immortalizes Nirvana in the studio at four different times, from the months of their first formation to the years of worldwide success, when the band’s leader was joined by his wife Courtney Love: shots that have become symbolic of an era. His friendship with Cobain allowed him to create a true visual record of the group, which he accompanied in the studio at all the different moments of their parabola, up to a few days after the passing of its leader.

Charles Peterson’s shots, on the other hand, are fundamental not only to the history of Nirvana, but also to the birth of grunge. Using a personal style, Peterson creates very unique images: his flashes, very powerful in order to rip through the darkness of the clubs, are able to isolate the subjects in a classic and iconic way; his is a Cobain portrayed in intimate images.

The exhibition intends to take the audience through the whole Seattle music scene of the end of the millennium: the images will revive illusions, hopes of that period.

For info: www.palazzomediciriccardi.it

Hours: Monday through Sunday 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Closed Wednesdays.

Tickets: Full 10 euros, reduced 6 euros. Free up to 17 years old.

Image: Kurt Cobain Beehive Records Seattle, 1991 © Charles Peterson 2020

Palazzo Medici Riccardi traces the history of grunge music and Kurt Cobain

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