Prato, at the Pecci Center the exhibition Hagoromo by Massimo Bartolini

From Sept. 16 to Jan. 8, 2023, the Pecci Center in Prato is hosting the exhibition Hagoromo, a monographic show dedicated to Massimo Bartolini (Cecina, 1962), part of a cycle the center organizes annually to present the work of Italian artists to the public. The exhibition, curated by Luca Cerizza with Elena Magini and realized in partnership with Intesa Sanpaolo, presents a new installation (the largest ever made by the artist) specially conceived for the museum’s spaces, a sort of new spine that guides the viewer to discover works belonging to different moments of his career. Eschewing retrospective, chronological and thematic organization, the exhibition intends to function as an itinerary made up of surprising and revealing encounters.

Hagoromo is the title of a well-known Japanese Noh theater play, which tells the story of a fisherman who one day findshagoromo, the feathered cloak of the tennin, a female celestial spirit of supernatural beauty part of Japanese mythology. When asked by the spirit to get back the mantle without which she would not be able to return to heaven, the fisherman replies that he would give it to her only after seeing her dance. Hagoromo (1989) is also the title of what Bartolini considers his first mature work: inside his old studio, on a lighted stage, a musician improvises music for saxophone. A dancer reacts to the music, moving inside a parallelepiped on wheels, which has the appearance of a tiny living unit.

Already anticipated in this performance are some of the themes and characters that still accompany his research today: the narrative dimension, which develops from homages, references, and withdrawals from other histories, works and biographies; the relationship with architecture and space; the relationship with the theatrical and performance context, including through the use of sound and music; and the delineation within the work of relationships between seemingly irreconcilable opposites.

The exhibition is accompanied by Hagoromo: Massimo Bartolini, the most extensive publication ever dedicated to the Tuscan artist. Edited by Luca Cerizza and Cristiana Perrella, and published by NERO, the volume is a project realized thanks to the support of the Italian Council (10th edition 2021), a program for the international promotion of Italian art of the General Directorate for Contemporary Creativity of the Ministry of Culture. With more than 400 pages, the volume presents a rich iconographic apparatus that follows in chronological order the artist’s entire career accompanied by detailed bio-bibliographical apparatus; the publication includes texts by: a.titolo, Fiona Bradley, Luca Cerizza, Laura Cherubini, Carlo Falciani, Chus Martínez, Jeremy Millar, Cristiana Perrella, Marco Scotini, David Toop, Andrea Viliani.

Pictured: Massimo Bartolini, Hagoromo (2005, performance). Photo by Attilio Maranz

Prato, at the Pecci Center the exhibition Hagoromo by Massimo Bartolini

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