Somaini Foundation
The new headquarters and the exhibition activities of the Foundation are inaugurated by an important personal exhibition of the sculptor that explores the fortunes of his work in the United States for about twenty years, starting from the end of the 1950s.
As a matter of fact, Somaini received in 1959 the prize for best foreign sculptor at the São Paulo Biennial in Brazil and in 1960 he held his first solo show at the Italian Cultural Institute in New York, organized by the Odyssia Gallery and presented by Giulio Carlo Argan.
The selection, curated by Luisa Somaini and Francesco Tedeschi, recalls with new ideas the topic treated in other recent exhibitions held at the Triennale Palace, at the Gallerie d’Italia and at the Museo del Novecento in Milan in 2017 and at the Open Art Gallery in Prato in 2018, proposing some selected works which retrace that great season.
Among these, some examples of the Verticali, Orizzontali, Oblique, Memorie dell’Apocalisse, Racconti and Figure di fuoco, that are motifs amid the most loved by American collectors. Among the sculptures on display there are also some works of the series started by Somaini after the informal season, such as the Cadute dell’uomo, Da sotto and Carnificazioni di un’architettura, linked to the reflection on the relationship between sculpture and the urban context. This theme was triggered by the contact with American culture during his numerous trips to the United States and it was gained during his collaborative experiences with architects, which led him in 1970 to the creation of monumental works for the cities of Atlanta, Baltimore and Rochester.
The exhibition, created in collaboration with the Open Art Gallery of Prato, is accompanied by a catalog with texts by Francesco Tedeschi and other authors.
Opening hours: Thursday-Friday, 10.00-17.00; Saturday, 10.00-13.00. Visits by reservation only in compliance with the provisions on the containment and management of the epidemiological emergency from COVID-19. To access the spaces of the Foundation it will be mandatory to show the Green Pass (Green Certification Covid 19) and to wear FFP2 mask.
Entrance for visitors in via Cassolo, in front of street number n. 3.
For information and reservations write to fondazione.somaini@gmail.com or call +39 02 58311707.