Women in art from the late 19th century to the present day, an exhibition at the GAM in Rome

At the GAM (Gallery of Modern Art) in Rome is running, from January 24 until October 13, 2019, the exhibition Women. Body and Image Between Symbol and Revolution, a reflection on the female figure through artists who have represented and celebrated women in the different artistic currents and cultural temperaments between the late 19th century, throughout the 20th century and up to the present day. About 100 works, including paintings, sculptures, graphics and photography, some of which have never been exhibited before or have not been exhibited for a long time, from the Capitoline contemporary art collections(Gallery of Modern Art and MACRO) documenting how the female universe has always been a favorite object of artistic attention, from an object to be admired, in the guise of an angel or temptress, to a mysterious subject questioning her own identity until the new image born of the protest of the 1960s.

The exhibition itinerary is accompanied by documentary material, video installations, photographic and filmic documents from the Cineteca di Bologna and theIstituto Luce-Cinecittà Archives, which were responsible for their creation, taken from cinematographic works and newsreels, as well as videos of performances and artists’ films. Prominent among the series of portraits on the second floor of the exhibition is the face of Elisa also known as Doubt, which depicts Elisa, the wife of Giacomo Balla (Turin, 1871 - Rome, 1958), portrayed as she turns to look at something or someone behind her. The iconic value of the image is contained in the gaze that changes astonishment into seduction and curiosity, transforming the portrait of the young woman from an object to be admired to a mysterious subject. Other artists on view in the exhibition include such masters as Felice Carena, Giulio Aristide Sartori, Marino Marini, Mario Ceroli, Amedeo Bocchi, Felice Casorati, Vincenzo Gemito, and Antonio Donghi. There will also, of course, be no shortage of female paintings, by artists such as Antonietta Mafai, Virginia Tomescu Scrocco, and Giosetta Fioroni.

One room of the exhibition will show the film, produced by theIstituto Luce, Bellissima (2004) by Giovanna Gagliardi, which through historical documents from theLuce Archives, film clips, popular songs and interviews recounts in images the journey of women in the 20th century. The last section of the exhibition, devoted to the dynamics and relationships between developments in contemporary art, women’s emancipation and feminist struggles, presents documentary material from ARCHIVIA - Archives Libraries Women’s Documentation Centers - and testimonies of performances and films byartist’s films by some of the protagonists of that fundamental season from private collections, important museums and public institutions(Museo di Roma in Trastevere; Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia - Cineteca Nazionale; Galleria Civica d’Arte Moderna Torino; MAMbo - Museo d’Arte Moderna di Bologna; MART - Museo di Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto - Archivio Tullia Denza).

Throughout the duration of the exhibition, the itinerary is enriched by new works presented to the public with meetings included in the cycle The Work of the Month according to a calendar being planned from March. Also organized between April and October 2019 are a series of cultural initiatives under the banner of interdisciplinarity (meetings, readings, performances, presentations, screenings, musical and themed evenings) on the themes addressed by the exhibition.
Through its website and social networks, GAM, from spring 2019, is also launching the #donneGAM contest through which the public is invited to post photographs of women protagonists of their family history. Images of grandmothers, mothers, sisters, companions, portrayed at work, school, home or other places of life, activity and engagement to document the many stories of women of yesterday and today. All the photographs will be broadcast via a monitor in a specially set up area of the exhibition.

Until the end of February in the halls of the Gallery also present a focus on the work of Fausto Pirandello (Rome, 1899 - 1975) thanks to the special loan from the Museo del Novecento in Milan of the painting Il remo e la pala (1933), exhibited together with other works from the GAM Gallery of Modern Art by the same author. For all information you can call 060608 (daily from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.) or visit the official website of the Galleria d’Arte Moderna di Roma.

Pictured: Giacomo Balla, Il dubbio (1907-1908; oil on paper; Rome, GAM)

Women in art from the late 19th century to the present day, an exhibition at the GAM in Rome

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.