Center for Italian Modern Art – On Alberto Savinio

29 december 2019Home, Interview, Locatie, Media, Portretten, Video0

Carlo Carrà – Ritratto di Alberto Savinio

Center for Italian Modern Art – Renato Barilli – On Alberto Savinio and Giorgio de Chirico + Luca Valentino – Alberto Savinio’s Theater + Roberto Calasso & Jonathan Galassi – On Alberto Savinio + Franco Baldasso – On Alberto Savinio and his other: Nivasio Dolcemare + Alice Ensabella – On Alberto Savinio’s Transparent Cities + Serena Alessi & Franco Baldasso – Myths and Heroines + Saya Woolfalk & Lucas Blalock – In Conversation: Savinio Echoes + Elena Salza & Giulia Tulino – Speaking to Clio: Enrica Antonini + Serena Alessi – On Alberto Savinio’s Interpretations of Achilles

Alberto Savinio – La cité des promesses

On Alberto Savinio and Giorgio de Chirico

On November 14, 2017, renowned Italian art historian and critic Renato Barilli gave a talk at the Center for Italian Modern Art (CIMA) in connection with the Alberto Savinio exhibition, October 6, 2017 – June 23, 2018. Barilli focused in particular on the nature of Savinio’s relationship with his better known brother, Giorgio de Chirico, a subject of the 2016-17 season at CIMA.

Renato Barilli on Alberto Savinio and Giorgio de Chirico from Center for Italian Modern Art on Vimeo.

Vimeo, Monday, November 27, 2017 at 7:37 PM EST

https://vimeo.com/244749142

On Alberto Savinio’s Theater

Alberto Savinio experimented with every theatrical genre available to him throughout his career, working as a composer, costume and set designer, playwright, librettist, stage director, and theatre critic. In this video Luca Valentino of the Conservatory of Music in Alessandria, Italy, discusses a selection of this Savinio’s theater productions, operas, and radio dramas, shedding light upon the creative process behind this artist’s highly ecclectic and original combinations of sound, image, and word.

This program, which took place at CIMA on April 6, 2018, was the first of two evenings organized, in collaboration with the Italian Institute of Culture, by the Center for Italian Modern Art as part of the Alberto Savinio exhibition season, October 6, 2017 to June 23, 2018.

Luca Valentino on Alberto Savinio’s Theater from Center for Italian Modern Art on Vimeo.

Vimeo, Friday, July 20, 2018 at 12:15 PM EST

https://vimeo.com/280959850

On Alberto Savinio

As part of its fifth exhibition season, dedicated to Alberto Savinio, CIMA was honored to collaborate with Farrar, Straus & Giroux to host two evenings with renowned author and publisher Roberto Calasso. Calasso is the publisher of Adelphi Edizioni, the Milan editorial house that has over the last forty years embarked on a rigorous project to re-issue Alberto Savinio’s literary oeuvre. This first evening featured a conversation between Calasso and Jonathan Galassi, the president and publisher of Farrar, Straus & Giroux, exploring the work of Alberto Savinio.

This program, on May 9, 2018, was the first of two evenings featuring Roberto Calasso at CIMA, co-presented with Farrar Straus and Giroux and with the support of the Maurice English Poetry Award

Roberto Calasso and Jonathan Galassi on Alberto Savinio from Center for Italian Modern Art on Vimeo.

Vimeo, Friday, Tuesday, July 17, 2018 at 4:47 PM EST

https://vimeo.com/280433454

On Alberto Savinio and his other, Nivasio Dolcemare

On February 8, 2018, as part of CIMA’s fifth exhibition season on Alberto Savinio, October 6, 2017 – June 23, 2018, the Center for Italian Modern Art was pleased to host an evening exploring the artist’s literary output with Franco Baldasso, the Director of the Italian Program and Study Abroad Program in Italy at Bard College, where he is Assistant Professor of Italian.

A multifaceted and versatile artist crossing the boundaries of disciplines and genres, Alberto Savinio also multiplied his own self in autobiographical novels and stories through the invention of innumerable masks of his own persona. Among his many fictitious characters, however, one stands out: Nivasio Dolcemare (Nivasio is an anagram of Savinio). Baldasso introduced Savinio’s fascinating literary inventions and his many doubles, commenting upon excerpts from Savinio’s texts, read in the original Italian by the poet Sara Fruner.

Nivasio Dolcemare: Franco Baldasso on Alberto Savinio and his Other from Center for Italian Modern Art on Vimeo.

Vimeo, Thursday, July 12, 2018 at 3:59 PM EST

https://vimeo.com/279724840

On Alberto Savinio’s Transparent Cities paintings

Alice Ensabella, a 2017-18 Fellow at the Center for Italian Modern Art, shares some insight into Alberto Savinio’s 1928 series of paintings around the theme of “Transparent Cities,” created for the Paris apartment of art dealer Leonce Rosenberg. Two of the six panels Savinio made for Rosenberg were on view at CIMA as part of the fifth season exhibition ALBERTO SAVINIO, October 6, 2017 – June 23, 2018.

CIMA hosted a Study Day on February 3, 2018, co-chaired by Alice Ensabella and CIMA 2016-17 Fellow Giovanni Casini, on Rosenberg’s Paris apartment, looking at the contributions by Savinio, Giorgio de Chirico, Francis Picabia, Fernard Leger, Max Ernst, and others. The proceedings will be published in an issue of CIMA’s e-journal, currently under construction.

Alice Ensabella on Alberto Savinio’s Transparent Cities paintings from Center for Italian Modern Art on Vimeo.

Vimeo, Monday, June 4, 2018 at 3:46 PM

https://vimeo.com/273384402

Myths and Heroines

On December 14, 2017, CIMA hosted a conversation on Alberto Savinio’s portrayal of female protagonists from Greek mythology with CIMA Fellow Serena Alessi and Bard College’s Franco Baldasso, with poet Sara Fruner delivering some readings of original Savinio texts.

The program focused on Savinio’s modern reinterpretation of the Greek myths, the artist’s multidisciplinary production, and his eccentric literary talent. It delved into his literary world from a unique viewpoint – his special relationship with the great mythical women of pre classic Greece, such as Ariadne, Penelope, and Alcesti, as well as with modern divas such as Isadora Duncan.

Myths and Heroines: Serena Alessi and Franco Baldasso on Alberto Savinio from Center for Italian Modern Art on Vimeo.

Vimeo, Thursday, July 19, 2018 at 4:23 PM EST

https://vimeo.com/280799767

In Conversation: Savinio Echoes

On January 26, 2018, in connection with CIMA’s fifth exhibition season on Alberto Savinio, the Center for Italian Modern Art was pleased to host curator and art historian Lauren Rosati in conversation with artists Saya Woolfalk and Lucas Blalock.

Savinio’s “pre postmodern” paintings are eccentric, vividly colored, and widely varied, containing everything from abstract patterning to traditional landscapes to mythological figures and engaging elements of surrealism, the fantastic, and the absurd. Contemporary artists Saya Woolfalk and Lucas Blalock joined art historian Lauren Rosati in a conversation on their own practices and recent projects, responding as well to the exhibition on view and offering contemporary perspectives on Savinio’s pioneering work. This discussion around inter generational creativity explored the role of surrealism, myth, fantasy, history, color, and hybrid forms in each of these artists’ works, revealing affinities and shared interests.

Savinio Echoes: Artists Saya Woolfalk and Lucas Blalock in Conversation from Center for Italian Modern Art on Vimeo.

Vimeo, Tuesday, July 17, 2018 at 11:51 AM EST

https://vimeo.com/280387445

Speaking to Clio: Enrica Antonini

On October 5, 2017, to inaugurate the opening of the season dedicated to Alberto Savinio, CIMA welcomed to New York Savinio’s granddaughter Enrica Antonini to share her personal perspective on this fascinating and under-recognized Italian artist – offering insight into Savinio’s life and travels, illustrated by rarely seen photographs from the family’s archive. She was in conversation with CIMA Fellows Elena Salza and Giulia Tulino. The presentation was given in Italian and English, with poet Sara Fruner acting as translator.

CIMA experienced technical difficulties with the recording system this evening. We apologize for the sound quality of this video.

Speaking to Clio: Introducing Alberto Savinio from Center for Italian Modern Art on Vimeo.

Vimeo, Tuesday, March 6, 2018 at 9:28 PM EST

https://vimeo.com/258909050

Alberto Savinio’s Interpretations of Achilles

Serena Alessi, a 2017-18 Fellow at the Center for Italian Modern Art, shares some insight into Alberto Savinio’s literary and pictorial depictions of the Greek mythological hero, Achilles, focusing in particular on the 1929 painting Le songe d’Achille (The Dream of Achilles), on view at CIMA as part of the fifth season exhibition ALBERTO SAVINIO, October 6, 2017 – June 23, 2018.