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Guggenheim Museum Presents Unprecedented Survey of Italian Futurism Opening in February First Comprehensive Overview of the Influential Movement to Be Shown in the U.S. Featuring Over 360 Works, Including Several Never Before Seen Outside of Italy
Exhibition: Italian Futurism, 1909–1944: Reconstructing the Universe
Venue: Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 1071 Fifth Avenue, New York
Location: Full rotunda and ramps, High Gallery, Annex Levels 5 and 7
Dates: February 21–September 1, 2014 Media Preview: Thursday, February 20, 10 am–1 pm
(NEW YORK, NY – January 16, 2014) — From February 21 through September 1, 2014, the Solomon
R. Guggenheim Museum presents Italian Futurism, 1909–1944: Reconstructing the Universe, the first
comprehensive overview in the United States of one of Europe’s most important 20th-century avant-
garde movements. Featuring over 360 works by more than 80 artists, architects, designers,
photographers, and writers, this multidisciplinary exhibition examines the full historical breadth of
Futurism, from its 1909 inception with the publication of Filippo Tommaso Marinetti’s first Futurist
manifesto through its demise at the end of World War II. The exhibition includes many rarely seen
works, some of which have never traveled outside of Italy. It encompasses not only painting and
sculpture, but also the advertising, architecture, ceramics, design, fashion, film, free-form poetry,
photography, performance, publications, music, and theater of this dynamic and often contentious
movement that championed modernity and insurgency.
The exhibition is organized by Vivien Greene, Senior Curator, 19th- and Early 20th-Century Art,
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. An international advisory committee composed of eminent
scholars from many disciplines provided expertise and guidance in the preparation of this thorough
exploration of the Futurist movement, a major modernist expression that in many ways remains little
known among American audiences.
This exhibition is made possible by Lavazza.
Support is provided in part by the National Endowment for the Arts and the David Berg Foundation,
with additional funding from the Juliet Lea Hillman Simonds Foundation, The Robert Lehman
Foundation, and the New York State Council on the Arts.
The Leadership Committee for Italian Futurism, 1909–1944: Reconstructing the Universe is also
gratefully acknowledged for its generosity, including the Hansjörg Wyss Charitable Endowment;
Stefano and Carole Acunto; Giancarla and Luciano Berti; Ginevra Caltagirone; Massimo and Sonia
Cirulli Archive; Daniela Memmo d’Amelio; Achim Moeller, Moeller Fine Art; Pellegrini Legacy
Trust; and Alberto and Gioietta Vitale.
This exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.
About Futurism
Futurism was launched in 1909 against a background of growing economic and social upheaval. In
Marinetti’s “The Founding and Manifesto of Futurism,” published in Le Figaro, he outlined the
movement’s key aims, among them: to abolish the past, to champion modernization, and to extol
aggression. Although it began as a literary movement, Futurism soon embraced the visual arts as well as
advertising, fashion, music and theater, and it spread throughout Italy and beyond. The Futurists
rejected stasis and tradition and drew inspiration from the emerging industry, machinery, and speed of
the modern metropolis. The first generation of artists created works characterized by dynamic
movement and fractured forms, aspiring to break with existing notions of space and time to place the
viewer at the center of the artwork. Extending into many mediums, Futurism was intended to be not just
an artistic idiom but an entirely new way of life. Central to the movement was the concept of the opera
d’arte totale or “total work of art,” in which the viewer is surrounded by a completely Futurist
environment.
More than two thousand individuals were associated with the movement over its duration. In addition to
Marinetti, central figures include: artists Giacomo Balla, Benedetta (Benedetta Cappa Marinetti),
Umberto Boccioni, Carlo Carrà, Fortunato Depero, and Enrico Prampolini; poets and writers Francesco
Cangiullo and Rosa Rosà; architect Antonio Sant’Elia; composer Luigi Russolo; photographers Anton
Giulio Bragaglia and Tato (Guglielmo Sansoni); dancer Giannina Censi; and ceramicist Tullio
d’Albisola. These figures and other lesser-known ones are represented in the exhibition.
Futurism is commonly understood to have had two phases: “heroic” Futurism, which lasted until around
1916, and a later incarnation that arose after World War I and remained active until the early 1940s.
Investigations of “heroic” Futurism have predominated and comparatively few exhibitions have explored
the subsequent life of the movement; until now, a comprehensive overview of Italian Futurism had yet
to be presented in the U.S. Italian art of the 1920s and ’30s is little known outside of its home country,
due in part to a taint from Futurism’s sometime association with Fascism. This association complicates
the narrative of this avant-garde and makes it all the more necessary to delve into and clarify its full
history.
Exhibition Overview
Italian Futurism unfolds chronologically, juxtaposing works in different mediums as it traces the myriad
artistic languages the Futurists employed as their practice evolved over a 35-year period. The exhibition
begins with an exploration of the manifesto as an art form, and proceeds to the Futurists’ catalytic
encounter with Cubism in 1911, their exploration of near-abstract compositions, and their early efforts in
photography. Ascending the rotunda levels of the museum, visitors follow the movement’s progression
as it expanded to include architecture, clothing, design, dinnerware, experimental poetry, and toys.
Along the way, it gained new practitioners and underwent several stylistic evolutions—shifting from the
fractured spaces of the 1910s to the machine aesthetics (or arte meccanica) of the ’20s, and then to the
softer, lyrical forms of the ’30s. Aviation’s popularity and nationalist significance in 1930s Italy led to the
swirling, often abstracted, aerial imagery of Futurism’s final incarnation, aeropittura. This novel painting
approach united the Futurist interest in nationalism, speed, technology, and war with new and dizzying
visual perspectives. The fascination with the aerial spread to other mediums, including ceramics, dance,
and experimental aerial photography.
The exhibition is enlivened by three films commissioned from documentary filmmaker Jen Sachs, which
use archival film footage, documentary photographs, printed matter, writings, recorded declamations,
and musical compositions to represent the Futurists’ more ephemeral work and to bring to life their
words-in-freedom poems. One film addresses the Futurists’ evening performances and events, called
serate, which merged “high” and “low” culture in radical ways and broke down barriers between
spectator and performer. Mise-en-scène installations evoke the Futurists’ opera d’arte totale interior
ensembles, from those executed for the private sphere to those realized under Fascism.
Italian Futurism concludes with the five monumental canvases that compose the Syntheses of
Communications (1933–34) by Benedetta (Benedetta Cappa Marinetti), which are being shown for the
first time outside of their original location. One of few public commissions awarded to a Futurist in the
1930s, the series of paintings was created for the Palazzo delle Poste (Post Office) in Palermo, Sicily.
The paintings celebrate multiple modes of communication, many enabled by technological innovations,
and correspond with the themes of modernity and the “total work of art” concept that underpinned the
Futurist ethos.
Exhibition Catalogue
A fully illustrated, 352-page catalogue accompanies Italian Futurism, 1909–1944: Reconstructing the
Universe. Featuring the work of nearly thirty scholars, it offers an important contribution to the
understanding of this major avant-garde movement of the 20th century. Edited by exhibition curator
Vivien Greene, the book begins with three introductory essays: an overview of Futurism, an analysis of
its historiography, and an investigation of its social and political context. It is then structured like a
microhistory, with short texts focusing on specific artists, series, and moments to present a selection of
Futurism’s many facets. A hardcover edition priced at $60 and a softcover edition priced at $40 will be
available at the museum shop and online at guggenheimstore.org, and distributed in the United States
through ARTBOOK | D.A.P.
Education and Public Programs
Italian Futurism, 1909–1944: Reconstructing the Universe is accompanied by a range of public programs,
including a series of lectures by Futurist scholars, a gallery program, film screenings, and performances
by Luciano Chessa and Daniele Lombardi. For complete information about the programs presented in
conjunction with the exhibition, please visit guggenheim.org/calendar.
Futurism Lecture Series
In this lively series, distinguished scholars present current research on a range of significant themes,
artists, and disciplines within Italian Futurism including: the art and theories of Tactilism; machine
aesthetics; and World War I and female Futurist writers and artists. An exhibition viewing follows each
program. $12, $8 members, free for students with RSVP.
“Touch without Sight: Futurist Tattilismo”
Tuesday, April 1, 6:30 pm
Emily Braun, Distinguished Professor, Hunter College and The Graduate Center, City University of
New York (CUNY)
“Ivo Pannaggi, Arte Meccanica, and the International Avant-Garde”
Wednesday, May 7, 6:30 pm
Christine Poggi, Professor of the History of Art, University of Pennsylvania
“War, Women, and Sexuality in the Futurist Avant-Garde”
Tuesday, May 20, 6:30 pm
Lucia Re, Professor of Italian and Gender Studies, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Curator’s Eye Tours
Fridays, 2 pm
Free with museum admission
March 21: Natalia Lauricella
April 4: Vivien Greene*
May 16: Natalia Lauricella*
June 27: Susan Thompson
July 18: Vivien Greene
August 22: Susan Thompson
*Tour interpreted in American Sign Language
Mind’s Eye Programs
Mondays, March 3, April 7, 6:30 pm
Wednesdays, March 12, April 9, 2 pm
For visitors who are blind or have low vision, tours and workshops focused on Italian Futurism, 1909–
1944: Reconstructing the Universe are presented through Verbal Description, touch, and sound. Free
with RSVP. For more information, visit guggenheim.org/mindseye.
About Lavazza
Lavazza prides itself on being Italy’s leading coffee brand and manufacturer. The company, founded in
1895, has been led by the Lavazza family for over a century of business, and currently operates in more
than ninety countries. Looking to the future, Lavazza seeks to make a second home in the United States
and expand its presence across the globe. With a long history of support for the arts, including
Renaissance art, photography, design, and music, Lavazza now joins the Guggenheim’s efforts to
promote greater understanding of Futurism. Through its sponsorship of the exhibition Italian Futurism,
1909–1944: Reconstructing the Universe, Lavazza supports an art movement vital to its home country of
Italy while also reaching an international audience.
About the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation
Founded in 1937, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation is dedicated to promoting the
understanding and appreciation of art, primarily of the modern and contemporary periods, through
exhibitions, education programs, research initiatives, and publications. The Guggenheim network that
began in the 1970s when the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, was joined by the Peggy
Guggenheim Collection, Venice, has since expanded to include the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao
(opened 1997) and the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi (currently in development). Looking to the future, the
Guggenheim Foundation continues to forge international collaborations that take contemporary art,
architecture, and design beyond the walls of the museum. More information about the foundation can
be found at guggenheim.org.
VISITOR INFORMATION
Admission:::: Adults $22, students/seniors (65+) $18, members and children under 12 free. Available with
admission or by download to personal devices, the Guggenheim’s new, free app offers an enhanced
visitor experience. The app features content on special exhibitions, access to more than 1,200 works in
the Guggenheim’s permanent collection, and information about the museum’s landmark building.
Verbal Imaging guides for select exhibitions are also included for visitors who are blind or have low
vision. The Guggenheim app is sponsored by Bloomberg.
Museum Hours: : : : Sunday–Wednesday, 10 am–5:45 pm; Friday, 10 am–5:45 pm; Saturday, 10 am–7:45
pm; closed Thursday. On Saturdays, beginning at 5:45 pm, the museum hosts “Pay What You Wish.”
For general information, call 212 423 3500 or visit the museum online at:
guggenheim.org
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January 16, 2014
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONTACT
Betsy Ennis, Director, Media and Public Relations
Keri Murawski, Senior Publicist
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
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L E N D E R S T O T H E E X H I B I T I O N
Collection of Renzo Arbore, Rome
Archivi Gerardo Dottori, Perugia
Archivio Galleria Campari, Milan
Merrill C. Berman Collection
Biagiotti Cigna Foundation, Guidonia, Italy
Casa Cavazzini, Museo d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Udine, Italy
Centre Pompidou, Paris, Musée national d’art moderne/Centre de création industrielle
Massimo and Sonia Cirulli Archive, New York
Civico Gabinetto dei Disegni–Castello Sforzesco, Milan
Comune di Perugia, Museo civico di Palazzo della Penna
Corkin Gallery, Toronto
George Eastman House, Rochester, New York
Estorick Collection, London
Fondazione Carima–Museo Palazzo Ricci, Macerata, Italy
Fondazione Echaurren Salaris, Rome
Fonds Alberto Sartoris, Archives de la construction moderne–Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland
Gabinetto Disegni e Stampe, Università di Pisa
Galleria d’Arte Moderna di Roma Capitale
Galleria Civica di Modena, Italy
Galleria nazionale d’arte moderna e contemporanea, Rome
GAM, Galleria Civica d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Turin
The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles
Collection of Giorgio Grillo, Florence
The Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice
Isisuf, Istituto Internazionale di Studi sul Futurismo, Milan
Collection Leoni, Erba, Italy
Libreria Antiquaria Pontremoli, Milan
Collection of Luce Marinetti, Rome
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Collection C. L. M. Seeber Michahelles, Rome
Moeller Fine Art, New York – Berlin
Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute, Utica, New York
Musée d’art moderne de la Ville de Paris
Musée de Grenoble, France
Museo Civico di Cuneo, Italy
Museo del Novecento, Milan
Museo Storico dell’Aeronautica Militare, Rome
Museo Teatrale alla Scala, Milan
Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid
The Museum of Modern Art, New York
Österreichisches Theatermuseum, Vienna
Pinacoteca Civica di Como, Italy
Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan
Touring Club Italiano Archive, Milan
Ventura Collection, Rome
Von der Heydt-Museum, Wuppertal, Germany
The Wolfsonian–Florida International University, Miami Beach
Wolfsoniana–Fondazione regionale per la Cultura e lo Spettacolo, Genoa
Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut
Private collection, Foligno, Italy
Private collection, Rome
Private collection, Switerzland
Private collectors who wish to remain anonymous
E X H I B I T I O N A D V I S O R Y C O M M I T T E E
Walter L. Adamson Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Intellectual History,
Emory University, Atlanta
Silvia Barisione Curator, The Wolfsonian–Florida International University,
Miami Beach
Gabriella Belli Direttore, Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia; Storica dell’arte
Dr. Günter Berghaus Senior Research Fellow, University of Bristol
Emily Braun Distinguished Professor, Hunter College and The Graduate
Center, City University of New York (CUNY)
Marta Braun Director, Graduate Program in Photographic Preservation and Collections Management, Ryerson University, Toronto
Maria Vittoria Marini Clarelli Soprintendente, Galleria nazionale d’arte moderna
e contemporanea, Rome
Ester Coen Professore di Storia dell’Arte Contemporanea,
Università degli Studi dell’Aquila
Enrico Crispolti Professore emerito di Storia dell’Arte Contemporanea;
Direttore della Scuola di Specializzazione in Storia dell’Arte, Università degli Studi di Siena
Massimo Duranti Critico d’arte; Presidente, Archivi Gerardo Dottori, Perugia
Flavio Fergonzi Professore di Storia dell’Arte Contemporanea,
Università di Udine, Italy
Daniela Fonti Professore di Storia dell’Arte Contemporanea, Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza”
Simonetta Fraquelli Independent Curator
Emilio Gentile Professore emerito,
Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza”
Giovanni Lista Directeur de Recherche,
Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS), Paris
Adrian Lyttelton Senior Adjunct Professor of European Studies,
Johns Hopkins University, Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies Bologna Center
Laura Mattioli Storica dell’arte
Lisa Panzera Senior Director, McCaffrey Fine Art, New York
Eugenia Paulicelli Professor of Italian, Comparative Literature,
and Women’s Studies, Queens College and The Graduate Center, City University of New York (CUNY)
Maria Antonella Pelizzari Professor of Art History, Hunter College and The Graduate
Center, City University of New York (CUNY)
Christine Poggi Professor of the History of Art, University of Pennsylvania
Marina Pugliese Direttore, Museo del Novecento, Milan
Lucia Re Professor of Italian and Gender Studies,
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Anna Maria Ruta Storica dell’arte
Michelangelo Sabatino, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Gerald D. Hines College of
Architecture, University of Houston
Claudia Salaris Storica delle avanguardie
Jeffrey T. Schnapp Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures;
Faculty Director, metaLAB (at) Harvard; Faculty Codirector, Berkman Center for Internet & Society,
Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
We are especially grateful for the exceptional collaboration of MART, Museo di arte moderna e contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto, Italy,
and Poste Italiane.
1 | Italian Futurism, 1909–1944: Reconstructing the Universe
Press Images
Italian Futurism, 1909–1944: Reconstructing the UniverseFebruary 21–september 1, 2014solomon r. guggenheim museum
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Giacomo BallaThe Hand of the Violinist (The Rhythms of the Bow) (La mano del violinista [I ritmi dell’archetto]), 1912Oil on canvas, 56 x 78.3 cmEstorick Collection, London© 2014 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / SIAE, Rome
Umberto BoccioniElasticity (Elasticità), 1912Oil on canvas, 100 x 100 cmMuseo del Novecento, Milan© Museo del Novecento, Comune di Milano (all legal rights reserved)Photo: Luca Carrà
2 | Italian Futurism, 1909–1944: Reconstructing the Universe
Luigi Russolo“The Art of Noises: Futurist Manifesto” (“L’arte dei rumori: Manifesto futurista”)Leaflet (Milan: Direzione del Movimento Futurista, 1913), 29.2 x 23 cmWolfsoniana - Fondazione regionale per la Cultura e lo Spettacolo, GenoaBy permission of heirs of the artistPhoto: Courtesy Wolfsoniana - Fondazione regionale per la Cultura e lo Spettacolo, Genoa
Carlo CarràInterventionist Demonstration (Manifestazione Interventista), 1914Tempera, pen, mica powder, paper glued on cardboard, 38.5 x 30 cmGianni Mattioli Collection, on long-term loan to the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice© 2014 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / SIAE, RomePhoto: Courtesy Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York
Giacomo BallaAbstract Speed + Sound (Velocità astratta + rumore), 1913–14Oil on unvarnished millboard in artist’s painted frame, 54.5 x 76.5 cmThe Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice 76.2553.31© 2014 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / SIAE, RomePhoto: Courtesy Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York
Umberto BoccioniUnique Forms of Continuity in Space (Forme uniche della continuità nello spazio), 1913 (cast 1949)Bronze, 121.3 x 88.9 x 40 cmThe Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Bequest of Lydia Winston Malbin, 1989© The Metropolitan Museum of ArtImage Source: Art Resource, New York
3 | Italian Futurism, 1909–1944: Reconstructing the Universe
Fortunato DeperoHeart Eaters (Mangiatori di cuori), 1923Painted wood, 36.5 x 23 x 10 cmPrivate collection© 2014 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / SIAE, RomePhoto: Vittorio Calore
Ivo PannaggiSpeeding Train (Treno in corsa), 1922Oil on canvas, 100 x 120 cmFondazione Carima–Museo Palazzo Ricci, Macerata, ItalyPhoto: Courtesy Fondazione Cassa di risparmio della Provincia di Macerata
Francesco CangiulloLarge Crowd in the Piazza del Popolo (Grande folla in Piazza del Popolo), 1914Watercolor, gouache, and pencil on paper, 58 x 74 cmPrivate collection © 2014 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / SIAE, Rome
Fortunato DeperoLittle Black and White Devils, Dance of Devils (Diavoletti neri e bianchi, Danza di diavoli), 1922–23Pieced wool on cotton backing, 184 x 181 cmMART, Museo di arte moderna e contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto, Italy© 2014 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / SIAE, RomePhoto: © MART, Archivio fotografico
4 | Italian Futurism, 1909–1944: Reconstructing the Universe
Bruno Munari and Torido MazzottiAntipasti Service (Piatti Servizio Antipasti), 1929–1930Glazed earthenware (manufactured by Casa Giuseppe Mazzotti, Albisola Marina), six plates: 21.6 cm diameter each; one vase: 11.7 × 7.6 cmThe Wolfsonian-Florida International University, Miami Beach, The Mitchell Wolfson, Jr. Collection© Bruno Munari, courtesy Corraini EdizioniPhoto: Lynton Gardiner
Enrico Prampolini and Maria Ricotti, with cover by Enrico PrampoliniProgram for the Theater of Futurist Pantomime (Théâtre de la Pantomine Futuriste)Illustrated leaflet (Paris: M. et J. De Brunn, 1927), 27.5 x 22.7 cmFonds Alberto Sartoris, Archives de la Construction Moderne–Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), SwitzerlandBy permission of heirs of the artistPhoto: Jean-Daniel Chavan
Filippo MasoeroDescending over Saint Peter (Scendendo su San Pietro), ca. 1927–37 (possibly 1930–33)Gelatin silver print, 24 x 31.5 cmTouring Club Italiano Archive
Mino Somenzi, ed., with words-in-freedom image Airplanes (Aeroplani) by Pino MasnataFuturismo 2, no. 32 (Apr. 16, 1933)Journal (Rome, 1933), 64 x 44 cmFonds Alberto Sartoris, Archives de la Construction Moderne–Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), SwitzerlandPhoto: Jean-Daniel Chavan
5 | Italian Futurism, 1909–1944: Reconstructing the Universe
Benedetta (Cappa Marinetti)Synthesis of Aerial Communications (Sintesi delle comunicazioni aeree), 1933–34Tempera and encaustic on canvas, 324.5 x 199 cmIl Palazzo delle Poste di Palermo, Sicily, Poste Italiane© Benedetta Cappa Marinetti, used by permission of Vittoria Marinetti and Luce Marinetti’s heirsPhoto: AGR/Riccardi/Paoloni
Gerardo DottoriCimino Home Dining Room Set (Sala da pranzo di casa Cimino), early 1930sTable, chairs, buffet, lamp, and sideboard; wood, glass, crystal, copper with chrome plating, leather, dimensions variablePrivate collection© 2014 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / SIAE, RomePhoto: Daniele Paparelli, Courtesy Archivi Gerardo Dottori, Perugia, Italy
Tullio CraliBefore the Parachute Opens (Prima che si apra il paracadute), 1939Oil on panel, 141 x 151 cmCasa Cavazzini, Museo d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Udine, Italy© 2014 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / SIAE, RomePhoto: Claudio Marcon, Udine, Civici Musei e Gallerie di Storia e Arte