57 works tell Chinese visitors a chapter of the history of art between the XIX and the XX century in ‘100 Years of Modern Art – Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rome’.
Inaugurated today by the Consul General of Italy in Shanghai Tiziana D’Angelo at the Bund One Art Museum, the exhibition is promoted by the Consulate General of Italy and the Italian Cultural Institute in Shanghai and curated by the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art of Rome. It will be open to the public from September 15 2022 to January 8 2023 as the latest among the initiatives of the Italy-China Year of Culture and Tourism 2022.
The exhibition is conceived as a journey through the colors, shapes and ideas permeating the art world at the turn of the century. Mainly arranged by themes and not in chronological order, it invites new readings of the works of art and their significance in their historical and cultural context, reflecting the National Gallery’s curatorial approach.
Among the pieces on show at the Bund One Art Museum are masterpieces from Italian artists like Modigliani, Giorgio de Chirico, Balla, Fontana and Telemaco Signorini. ‘100 Years’ also showcases works from European masters like The Three Ages from Gustav Klimt and Monet’s Pink Waterlilies.
With its themes, the exhibition caters to a young Chinese public passionate about art, thus aiming at fostering mutual understanding and cultural exchanges between Italy and China, while strengthening knowledge and appreciation of Italy’s cultural heritage abroad.
“It is very exciting to be able to welcome the masterpieces of Rome’s National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art to Shanghai. – The Consul General commented in her speech – The Italian and Chinese people are heirs to millennia of history, yet nothing unites them more deeply than their shared passion for art and beauty. This is even more true for the younger generations. Thanks to the Galleria Nazionale we can embark on an extraordinary journey of mutual knowledge that, overcoming any physical restrictions, will offer Italy a great stage to present itself in China.”
The Director of the Italian Cultural Institute in Shanghai Francesco D’Arelli stressed the relevance of this exhibition in the Italy-China Year of Culture: “With the masterpieces from the Uffizi Galleries in Florence on show since a few days ago and now with those from the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rome, Italy shows itself at the Bund One Art Museum as a country with one of the richest cultural heritages, spanning from antiquity to our days. Italian contemporary art not only reflects the trends embraced by movements and schools of painting worldwide, but also reveals an abundance of references, motifs and chromatic tones that define its unmistakable unique identity.”
