Pino Pascali and Toti Scialoja protagonists of the 1950s in dialogue at Bari's Kursaal Santalucia

On Nov. 8, the exhibition Pino Pascali Toti Scialoja opens at Kursaal Santalucia in Bari. Confluences, which can be visited until May 4, 2025. Curated by Federica Boragina, Eloisa Morra and Antonio Frugis, the exhibition is promoted by the Fondazione Pino Pascali and the Puglia Region’s Department of Tourism, Cultural Economy and Territorial Enhancement, in collaboration with Electa. This is the first exhibition dedicated to Pino Pascali (Bari, 1935 - Rome, 1968) in Bari since 1981, a tribute to the Apulian artist, who is internationally known and present in the world’s most important collections. The event marks the first step in a collaboration between Fondazione Pascali, Regione Puglia and Electa, aimed at promoting initiatives that enhance Pino Pascali’s legacy by exploring his artistic influences and collaborations.

The exhibition features the participation of the Toti Scialoja Foundation in Rome. The Kursaal Santalucia, restored in 2021 on the initiative of the Region of Puglia, presents the ideal space for a visual journey that, for the first time, recounts the dialogue between Pascali and Toti Scialoja (Rome, 1914 - Rome, 1998), two protagonists of Italian art in the 1950s and 1960s. The itinerary, divided into five sections, reveals the experiments born from a common inspiration, highlighting surprising thematic and imaginative correspondences. The meeting between Pascali and Scialoja dates back to the days of the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome. Pascali, a young and promising student, enrolled in 1955, when Scialoja was already a renowned teacher, known for his innovative approach to stagecraft. Thanks to Scialoja’s lectures, Pascali developed an artistic vision charged with energy, a reflection of the fascination with matter that the master transmitted to him, the main theme of the first section.

A further point of contact between the two artists is their shared interest in America and the renewal of the European tradition through overseas influences. The second section of the exhibition explores this theme, displaying Scialoja’s famous prints alongside Pascali’s pop works. Their theatrical experiences, important for the evolution of television and advertising languages, are the focus of the third section. Scialoja introduces Pascali to avant-garde theater, a space of experimentation that also influences Pascali’s advertising works, including his passion for performance. Other commonalities emerge in the fourth section, such as a fascination with the animal world. From the 1960s, spiders, whales and cheetahs become the protagonists of Scialoja’s poems and drawings, while in Pascali’s mock sculptures we find an irreverent bestiary, in which a playful and metaphysical approach to life shines through.

Pino Pascali and Toti Scialoja protagonists of the 1950s in dialogue at Bari's Kursaal Santalucia

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