Japan. Stories of love and war: a selection of more than 200 works of art describing the Floating World of ukiyo-e has been brought for the first time to Bologna, where the elegant and sophisticated atmosphere of the Edo period in Tokyo (1603-1868) has descended on Palazzo Albergati. The greatest Japanese artists of the 19th century will be on show including Hiroshige, Utamaro, Hokusai and Kuniyoshi, but the exhibition also gives a complete panorama of Japanese life in this period through the display of samurai clothes, kimonos, fans and photographs.

The exhibition “Figure contro. Fotografia della differenza” is made of artworks from the CSAC archives and it documents the role that photography- especially in the Seventies – has had in raising awareness around hidden, forgotten, and sometimes censored issues.

“Figure contro. Fotografia della differenza” is depicted in these shots, where the protagonists are people – who literally were pushed to the margins from the society because their own existence is in contrast with the logic prevailing in the modern world. In other cases, the prominent figures are people who have been involved to contrast, manifest, trying not to resign themselves, and affirming an alternative model with respect to the contemporary society. Moreover, “Figure contro. Fotografia della differenza” exhibits photographs, where subjects are the same authors who took that photos – such as Giordano Bonora, Anna Candiani, Carla Cerati, Mario Cresci, Uliano Lucas, Paola Mattioli, and Giuseppe Morandi. Each of them – according to their sensitivity and their language – have contributed to transforming photography not just into a critical tool but also an instrument of reflection, used to inform the Italian society of these conditions during the economic boom.

For further information, please visit the website: www.csacparma.it

A major set of ceramic works by Galileo Chini – mostly from the Vieri Chini di Borgo San Lorenzo Collection – opens the series of temporary exhibitions at the Museo Bertozzi & Casoni. In this case, like in those that follow, this is not so much of a monographic show but rather an attempt to highlight those protagonists and those moments that, in modernity and contemporaneity, either directly or indirectly, may evoke or relate to the expressive achievements and artistic aims of Bertozzi & Casoni.

Galileo Chini’s works, displayed in direct comparison with the works to be found in the Museum, thus hint at clear or hidden affinities with works to be produced a century later, demonstrating yet again, if ever it were necessary, that in art nothing is created and nothing is destroyed, and that the concept of the artistic tradition, to which Bertozzi & Casoni are particularly bound, has resisted and innovated in the face of the many potential crises of the 20th century and the present moment.

Just as they are brought together by their common use of a poor and often overlooked material such as ceramics. With ceramics, Chini (who was an all-round artist, working as a painter, a decorator, an illustrator, and scenographer) made one of the main contributions to European Art Nouveau and, likewise, in the very mimetic possibilities and potential of ceramics Bertozzi & Casoni came across the ideal expressive medium to bring their elliptic thought exercises to life.
Last but not least, their common exaltation of beauty. A beauty that Galileo Chini reinvented in the fleeting elements of the natural world, exalted by shimmering reverberations of lustre, and which Bertozzi & Casoni have led us to discover even in objects and subjects that are commonly overlooked, rejected or neglected.

For further information: www.museobertozziecasoni.com/events/dialoghi-darte/?lang=en

That’s IT! is a new generational collective exhibition, curated by Lorenzo Balbi, displaying at MAMbo’s premises the works of 56 artists and collectives born from 1980 onwards as well as of several specially created new pieces. The exhibition will explore the most recent developments of Italian art through the use of several media. The exhibition, with a clearly generational cut, investigates the most recent developments in art in our country consistently with a precise positioning on the Italian and international scene that the MAMbo has chosen to give itself.

That’s IT! (IT as the European Union code that identifies the initials of Italy) does not develop, intentionally, around a unitary and monolithic concept, but offers questions and possible readings of the contemporary in an open, dialectical and magmatic perspective.
Does it still make sense to define an “Italian” artist today? What contributes to determining the definition of “Italianità“? Does this definition have consequences on the artist’s self-representation? Where and how do we put the geographical and generational border? The exhibition offers some of the possible answers.

The exhibition is part of Bologna Estate 2018, the program of activities promoted and coordinated by the Comune di Bologna.

For further information: www.mambo-bologna.org/

With the new exhibition Tesori d’oriente, curated by Pedro Moura Carvalho, the Fondazione Franco Maria Ricci offers a careful selection of artifacts, extraordinary examples of 16th and 17th-century decorative art, some never before exhibited, coming from prestigious Italian and Portuguese private collections and some museums. Pearl, ivory, precious stones and other precious materials make up the rich, historiated objects that will parade between the rooms and between the pages of the homonymous volume published by Franco Maria Ricci, a catalog of the exhibition enriched by the texts of Carvalho himself.

It is a story that starts from afar when in the Renaissance refined works of art made in Asia with exotic materials come for the first time in Europe as a result of colonization, and the masterly skill of local artisans arouses the wonder of merchants, travelers, and scholars.

The exhibition offers a journey through the Renaissance between East and West, which will allow visitors to admire objects finely crafted in ivory, pearl, hard stones. The exhibition also aims to recount for the first time the complex commercial and cultural relations between the Asian territories colonized by the Portuguese, during the era of great discoveries, of which Portugal itself was the protagonist, the refined Indian factories and European collectors during two centuries of history.

For further information: www.labirintodifrancomariaricci.it/it/labirinto/homepage-labirinto/

From 15 September to 4 November 2018, at the Palazzo Ducale in Sassuolo (MO) is held the personal artist of the Brazilian and Franciscan friar, Sidival Fila (1962), entitled Prospettive relative. The exhibition, organized by the Gruppo Giovani Imprenditori Confindustria Emilia Area Centro, presents a series of site-specific installations and large works that interact with the most prestigious architectural and pictorial spaces of the Palazzo Ducale di Sassuolo, such as the Salone delle Guardie, the Camera della Fortuna, the Camera dell’Amore, la Camera delle Virtù estensi. Ideally to introduce the exhibition, at the entrance of the Palace, the opera Fenice, one of the best known of Sidival Fila, will be set up. The ancient and the modern become protagonists of a reversal of perspectives, where the theme of truth is placed in the limelight, showing its relativity and at the same time the absolute dependence on the perception of each person.

The present installations aim to confuse the visitor’s perception, through an unusual and personal visit experience, while the large monochromes on the windows that look towards the Scalone d’Onore and towards the Peschiera, create a combination of strong aesthetic impact with the seventeenth-century frescoes.

From humble materials to waste objects, to free and introflected fabrics, in his constant research is the contact with the material, to which the artist aims to return the voice, to tell its story, to make it feel its vibration.

For further information: www.gallerie-estensi.beniculturali.it/palazzo-ducale/in-evidenza/sidival-fila-prospettive-relative/

The exhibition of Lawrence Beck entitled Dialogue with the Past is dedicated to Italian gardens hosted in the Ducal Palace in Sassuolo, Modena.

The current appearance of the palace takes shape from 1634 when the ancient and massive castle was transformed into a ducal residence, a prestigious place for summer holidays and a seat of the official representation of the Court. The commissioning of reconstruction and decoration belongs to Francesco I d’Este, the duke who – after the loss of Ferrara in 1598 – created a new image of Modena as a capital of the State and reported on the European political scene the Este duchy of Modena and Reggio Emilia. Due to its architecture that embellished the place in the wide valley of the Secchia river, the palace is also called “Delizia” since it represents a true jewel of baroque culture in Northern Italy.  There are fountains and green spaces, beautiful and creative decorations surrounded it.

The exhibition features eight large-scale photographs in a dialogue with the masterpieces of ancient art housed in the Palace. For the last five years, Beck has devoted his work to the theme of gardens, representing the culmination of an artistic vision that starts out from the traditional concept of photography as a form of documentary record. In this cycle, Beck focuses on the relationship between man and nature, concentrating on landscapes, where some of the most important masterpieces of Italian architecture can be found. Renowned for his large-scale photographic works, Lawrence Beck has spent years creating lasting images of natural landscapes illuminated with soft, diffused light, using the traditional method of cellulose film to photograph them, which enables him to produce results that are sometimes very different from those achieved with instant digital methods.

For further information, please visit the exhibition website: www.gallerie-estensi.beniculturali.it

Summer Cinema: 93 summer nights in the open-air cinema hall most loved in Reggio Emilia. From Monday, June 4 to Wednesday, September 5 the Cinema under the stars is rekindled in Via Samarotto Arena. The daily appointment (seven evenings out of seven) with Arci association summer cinema in Reggio Emilia is realized in collaboration with HeraComm, Coop Alleanza 3.0, Cinema Office of the Municipality of Reggio Emilia and Fice. This year – for three months, starting in June – the cinema will offer an excursus about the seventh art. The first part of the program (until July 31) has been announced meanwhile, films of August and September will be announced in a few weeks.

The 93 days of the program will run 3 shows and several films with free entry, true goodies, including few movies presentation with directors who will be present in the cinema arena. Moreover, there will be restored historical films and about 70% of arthouse as a final result of a proposal that is looking for a popular and diverse high-quality cinema. Great space for Italian cinema as well: you will see new films shot by Paolo Sorrentino, Matteo Garrone, Luca Guadagnino, Alice Rohrwacher and many others – a true honor to the Italian Flag in the world. Last but not least action and adventure, sentimental and dramatic movies will – as always – be run to the summer arena. So there’s something here for everyone in these 93 nights.

In June, the screening begins at 9.45 pm, in July at 9.30 pm, while in August and September starts at 9.15 pm. The ticket office opens 30 minutes before the movie starts.

For further information, please visit the website:  eventi.comune.re.it/eventi/rassegna/cinemaestivostalloni

Pink Wednesdays IX Edition: Pink is the color of the nights of Reggio Emilia. From 20 June to 25 July “Pink Wednesdays” return in Reggio Emilia, six evenings of great entertainment to live and rediscover the historical center, sharing emotions and community spirit.

This event is promoted by Reggio Emilia Municipality and the Chamber of Commerce of the city and organized by Kaiti Expansion: the appointment represents the main event of the summer in Reggio Emilia, a project born in 2013 to underline the role of the center as the heart of the city, the place of quality, of culture, of relations and of great commercial offer with about 1000 among shops, bars and restaurants.

The slogan “Will you be there?” emphasizes an important objective: Pink Wednesdays represent one of the opportunities, to enhance the city center, livening up every corner, sharing with citizens and many people coming from other cities, a lively historical center, which is able to offer initiatives to a wide audience in the spirit of originality and quality.

For further information, visit the website:  www.mercoledirosa.it

Festival of Torrechiara Renata Tebaldi: the castle of Torrechiara is undoubtedly the most spectacular, structured and also the most popular in the province of Parma and for this reason it has often been used as a movie set for films such as Lady Donke by Richard Donner, played by Michelle Pfeiffer, Matthew Broderick and Rutger Hauer and it is home to summer shows including, of course, the Torrechiara Renata Tebaldi Festival. The manor is located at 278 meters on the level of the sea on a walled platform placed at the top of a terraced hill and cultivated to the left of the Parma stream along the road to Langhirano. The first certain news of the existence of a fortified structure in Torrechiara came only in 1259, when the mayor of Parma ordered its demolition, prohibiting its rebuilding two years later. The current castle was built in 1448-60 by Pier Maria Rossi with the aim of providing a defensive and residential structure that, nowadays, makes one of the most pleasing aesthetic experience in the area.

The splendid setting of the Courtyard of Honor of the castle hosts a Festival that combines classical music, jazz, dance, theater and sonorities that are variously linked to tradition. The reason for this combination lies in the belief that the Castle of Torrechiara (and the Courtyard of the castle with its perfect acoustics) is not only a monument of the past, but a space that for five centuries has been experienced, in its own way at every epoch, from the following generations, an ideal bridge between past and present.

A festival dedicated to Renata Tebaldi as the organizer said: “she has been a friend and godmother of our Festival since the beginning. For many years she has followed our work with interest and has never failed to make suggestions and observations. When the Torrechiara Festival was born we immediately thought of dedicating it to her, in the belief that our land should be grateful to her in a permanent way and in places from which her exceptional artistic journey started through music. ”

For further information, please visit the website: www.festivalditorrechiara.it