The nostalgia of works enclosed in museum deposits: the exhibition of Alice Ronchi in Lissone

From February 18 to May 19, 2024, the MAC, Museum of Contemporary Art in Lissone, will host the exhibition Amami Ancora by Alice Ronchi, the artist’s first solo show in a public institution. The exhibition opens the three-year exhibition program conceived by the newly appointed director Stefano Raimondi, and inaugurates the Prime project, with which MAC acts as a center of research and experimentation to give voice to contemporary artists who, through their works, dialogue with those in the permanent collection, acquired during the historic Premio Lissone.

The review begins with Alice Ronchi’s investigation of MAC’s permanent collection, establishing a relationship of both intimacy and affection with the participants in the Lissone Prize during the period 1946-1967. Through an in-depth analysis, Alice Ronchi restores to the works and their creators a renewed centrality and an opportunity for an emotional reunion with the viewer. For the occasion, Alice Ronchi presents a new intervention, alongside important historical works, others previously unpublished and some that have remained in her studio for years that enter into dialogue with those in the MAC’s collection of figures such as Claude Bellegarde, Cheval-Bertrand, Peter Brüning, Giorgio De Chirico, Piero Dorazio, Gino Meloni, Achille Perilli, Mario Schifano, Eugenio Tomiolo and others. The title, Amami Ancora, recalls the need for the works to live and to emerge from the nostalgia that encloses them in storage, to be appreciated and rediscovered once again. The exhibition route begins in the basement, where works by artists such as Peter Brüning and Piero Ruggeri evoke a sense of disturbance. As one proceeds to the upper floors, the tones become lighter and the works, while retaining an echo of pain, reflect the fragility of the soul followed by a search for purity and joy. Light takes a key role in this progression, having always been a key element along with color and material in Alice Ronchi’s artistic expression.

“Amami Ancora,” says Alice Ronchi, “is a project whose roots have long resided in my heart, I still did not know what forms it would take, but for years I have nurtured it with careful research aimed at artists of the first half of the Italian 20th century; devoting myself mostly to works on which the viewer’s gaze seemed to have not rested for some time. An intimate path of dialogue with history, a research still in the making that found its first expression in the exhibition at the MAC in Lissone.”

“The main intervention,” Alice Ronchi continues, “Key to the entire project, lies not only in the selection of the works but in my desire to take them with me along all the floors of the museum, to move them from the storage rooms and the basement, where the prize collection is currently exhibited, and to share that place as equals by activating a new and unprecedented dialogue by honoring its history. I thank Stefano Raimondi for enthusiastically accepting my proposal and making it possible.”

“The first clear and fundamental sign of the revitalization of the museum,” says Stefano Raimondi “Is architectural and is visible even before entering the museum, through the great work done by the city administration to bring the MAC back to being that incredible ”museum of light“ for which it was designed. The huge glass windows, which allow a dialogue between the interior of the museum and the surrounding square, have been restored, just as the many natural light points that had been occluded over time have been reopened; people will finally be able to enjoy viewing the works of art in a setting that is unique in Italy of its kind.”

“The new course of the MAC, which begins with Alice Ronchi’s exhibition, already highlights some important interventions to enhance the museum planned by the Municipal Administration-from architecture to communication, from collections to accessibility-which firmly believes in the value of contemporary art and culture as indispensable elements for civil and social growth,” explains Culture Councillor Carolina Minotti.

“We are proud of the fact that the Museum proposes itself as a space where contemporary artists can express themselves and interact with the rich artistic history of our territory,” says Mayor Laura Borella of Lissone. “The goal is for the MAC to become a place of discovery and confrontation, where artists can express themselves freely and where the public can appreciate and understand contemporary art in its most authentic form. I hope that this initiative can be just the beginning of a journey full of discoveries and new perspectives, because we believe that art is a powerful tool for cultural and social growth.”

Exhibition hours: Wednesday and Friday: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Thursday: 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday and Sunday: 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. / 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Free admission

The nostalgia of works enclosed in museum deposits: the exhibition of Alice Ronchi in Lissone

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