A Bold New Epic Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis
The Spirit of Sant Martí Vell
Sanctuary of An Iconic Jeweler
After Cobra Karel Appel
A Century Of Relevance Kafka Is Still the Rage
The Art of Setting Runway Shows of Jacquemus
Conjuring Acts
Michael Ho
Walter Albini
King Lear at The Shed A Life In Prints Pablo Picasso
Pioneering Designer Revisited
Samba Legend and Painter
Heitor dos Prazeres
Hands of Clay
Julia Isídrez and Maria Lira Marques
Insider’s Guide to Lago Maggiore
Marta Ferri The Eternal Revival Rome in the 1960’s
Arte A Casa A New Setting For Art
THE LIST
Venetian Delights: Carpaccio and Bellini
this autumn, the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart presents a landmark exhibition exploring the works of Vittore Carpaccio and Giovanni Bellini, two prominent painters of the Early Renaissance in Venice. For the first time in Germany, Carpaccio’s vibrant and detailed paintings will be showcased alongside select works by Bellini, and Lorenzo Lotto. The exhibition examines how Carpaccio and Bellini established themselves as unique chroniclers of Venetian life, capturing the city’s essence through their use of rich colors that would one day inspire Giuseppe Cipriani with his iconic creations. The show provides a fascinating insight into the artistic innovations of 15th- and 16th-century Venice, highlighting the influences and rivalries that shaped the period’s remarkable cultural heritage.
Arte Naïf in Romagna
The Fellini Museum in Rimini, Italy, is hosting an exhibition dedicated to Pino Boschetti, a self-taught painter from the same town as Fellini. Boschetti’s 92 oil paintings and 30 drawings capture the essence of Romagna’s people and landscapes with ironic tenderness, evoking a nostalgic portrayal of a lost Italian way of life. Like Fellini, Boschetti masterfully weaves everyday details with dreamlike visions, celebrating the region’s colorful characters and emotional heritage. This exhibition is part of the “Lingue di confine” project, exploring the connection between dialect and artistic expression.
Love in Puglia Pandaemonium
Michelangelo Pistoletto’s “Love Difference” installation is on display at the former IMARFA marble factory in Fasano, Italy, until the end of October. The neon light monumental work promotes peace and understanding among cultures, featuring the phrase “love differences” in multiple languages. This project marks the beginning of the site’s transformation into a contemporary art center. Pistoletto’s work, part of the “Arte Povera” movement, aims to inspire social transformation and unity, echoing the themes of the recent G7 summit. The installation overlooks the Mediterranean Sea, symbolizing connection and dialogue.
This Folio Society edition of Humphrey Jennings’ seminal work, “Pandaemonium”, is a stunning collection of over 120 illustrations, curated by Sir Christopher Frayling. This visionary book explores the impact of the Industrial Revolution on British arts, culture and literature. Its influence was evident in Danny Boyle’s 2012 London Olympics Opening Ceremony. As AI promises a new technological revolution, “Pandaemonium” remains a prescient and relevant masterpiece, offering a powerful commentary on the intersection of technology and humanity.
Left to Right:
Fiera di San Martino, Pino Boschetti
Gordon Parks Muhammad Ali, 1966, printed later gelatin silver print
Coalbrookdale by Night by Philip James de Loutherbourg, 1801
Gentile and Giovanni Bellini, St. Mark Preaching in Alexandria, 1504–7; oil on canvas; Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan
Titled Hot Heart, the project along Helsinki’s waterfront, is based on an archipelago of heat-storing basins with the dual function of storing thermal energy and serving as a hub for recreational activities. The “islands” will also
tropical forests and ecosystems from around the world, giving the Finnish capital additional
educational attraction. All images courtesy of Carlo Ratti Associati.
The Symphony of Intelligences
CARLO RATTI , THE 2025 BIENNALE’S ARCHITECTURE
CURATOR ENVISIONS A FUTURE WHERE NATURAL, ARTIFICIAL, AND COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE CONVERGE TO CREATE SUSTAINABLE, INNOVATIVE URBAN DESIGN
carlo ratti, the renowned architect, engineer, and urban visionary, is set to make waves as the curator of the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale, themed “Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective.” Known for his innovative fusion of technology and design, Ratti’s work consistently pushes the boundaries of architecture, merging the digital with the physical to create adaptive and sustainable urban spaces. His upcoming role at the Biennale will explore the intersections of natural, artificial, and collective intelligence, inviting architects to envision a future where cities are dynamic ecosystems responding to the pressing challenges of our time. This edition of the Biennale promises to be a groundbreaking showcase of interdisciplinary collaboration, sustainability, and innovative thinking, reflecting Ratti’s commitment to using architecture as a tool for social and environmental change.
bollettino: Your theme for the 2025 Biennale, “Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective,” is quite intriguing. Can you elaborate on how you conceptualized this theme?
carlo ratti: For months now, especially after the release of version 4.0 of ChatGPT, every paper, magazine, and social media platform has been discussing the revolutionary potential of artificial intelligence. Apocalyptic and integrated visions agree on one point: the future of humanity, whether catastrophic or paradisiacal, will primarily depend on the future of AI. I respectfully disagree. Framing the fate of humanity as dependent on only one type of intelligence—artificial intelligence— overlooks the crucial contributions of other forms of intelligence, particularly natural and collective. Natural intelligence integrates biological insights into the design
process, while collective intelligence harnesses community participation and crowd wisdom that have always shaped our most brilliant buildings.
The title “Intelligens” reflects not just the modern term “intelligence,” but also evokes a broader range of meanings. The final syllable, “gens,” is Latin for “people,” hinting at a new, fictional root that envisions a future of intelligence that is inclusive, multifaceted, and imaginative—expanding beyond today’s narrow focus on AI.
Of course, these themes have long stirred my imagination... From the silent wisdom of the humble tree to the genius loci celebrated by Bernard Rudofsky in “Architecture Without Architects,” and the benevolent robots envisioned by Isaac Asimov, I’ve always been cap-
“Titled Hot Heart, the project is based on an archipelago of heat-storing basins with the dual function of storing thermal energy and serving as a hub for recreational activities. The “islands” will also be home to tropical forests and ecosystems from around the world, giving the Finnish capital additional public space and a new educational attraction. .”
— Carlo Ratti
tivated by the symphony of intelligences that hums and beats in the world around us.
bollettino: How do you see the integration of natural, artificial, and collective intelligence shaping the future of urban design?
carlo ratti: To date, different forces have shaped the evolution of architecture, yet they often operate in isolation, resulting in a significant void in contemporary practice. Today, artificial, natural, and collective intelligences—while influential—tend to engage in partial and fragmented dialogues.
This lack of integration highlights a crucial gap in our approach to redefining relationships between humans and nature, especially within the context of the ecological transition. The key challenge is to move beyond these isolated efforts and seek a true convergence of these three major strands. This convergence is not about eliminating their differences but about harnessing their unique contributions to achieve meaningful change. We can rethink architecture—not just to build more, but to build differently.
In the near future, it will be essential to generate genuine dialogue and collaboration among these intelligences. We must focus on experimenting and evolving through cycles of trial and error. This systemic challenge requires architects to play a central role—working alongside all disciplines involved as a sort of conductor of this chorus of intelligence—to create innovative and integrated urban solutions.
bollettino: You have stated, “The city is a living organism. At the Biennale Architecture 2025, the city is at the center of a metamorphis, one that all architects must contribute
to.” What is the nature of this metamorphosis?
carlo ratti: The metamorphosis at the Biennale Architecture 2025 is the merging of natural and artificial worlds.
bollettino: Sustainability is a key focus of your work. How does the Biennale’s Circularity Policy align with your vision for a more sustainable future?
carlo ratti: In a world where buildings and construction contribute nearly 40% of global emissions, shifting from linear to circular economies is imperative. We envision the Biennale as a platform to explore innovative solutions to our ecological challenges. The Circularity Manifesto represents one such vital approach, promoting sustainable practices and resource efficiency in the construction industry – especially when dealing with temporary events such as Biennales.
bollettino: The Biennale will explore ‘intelligent solutions’ to the climate crisis. Can you highlight some innovative ideas or projects that will be featured?
carlo ratti: I can’t reveal too much right now, but what’s truly interesting is that our solutions will come from a diverse range of voices. We’re drawing on ideas submitted by thousands of people worldwide to our space for ideas, and responses from national pavilions. We’ve invited these pavilions to address the theme of ‘one place, one solution,’ showcasing the power of local ingenuity. bollettino: How do you balance the high-tech aspects of ‘smart cities’ with the low-tech, nature-integrated approaches in your designs?
carlo ratti: Natural and artificial realms have merged for millennia—just think of agriculture! We aim to stimulate this convergence in the opposite direction as well, us-
ing design to make the artificial world more natural. This can occur materially—like our use of mycelium in the Circular Garden project—or computationally—like our “Hot Heart” project for the city of Helsinki. Our buildings and cities are starting to behave like living organisms.
bollettino: How do you balance the aesthetic and functional aspects of your designs? For example your firm recently introduced a proposal for the new Baltimore Bridge, how did you incorporate core principles of your design ethos along with honoring the traditions of the prior design and character of the landscape.
carlo ratti: For the new Baltimore Bridge proposal, we honored the legacy of the old design and the natural landscape while introducing modern solutions. Our material-efficient design respects the surrounding environment by avoiding local bird sanctuaries and increasing clearance to benefit the city’s harbor industry. Informed by local needs and research from the MIT Senseable City Lab, we’ve incorporated smart features for predictive maintenance. Our design embraces a concept we worked on with Antoine Picon called Network Specificism, synthesizing diverse professional inputs to tailor the bridge to Baltimore’s unique needs.
bollettino: Looking ahead, what lasting impact do you hope the 2025 Biennale will have on the field of architecture and beyond?
carlo ratti: The built environment is one of the largest contributors to atmospheric emissions, placing architecture among the main culprits in the degradation of our planet. It doesn’t have to be this way. I want people to see that architecture can be a way forward, a discipline of experiments and hopefully solutions.
Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis
THE VISIONARY DIRECTOR’S LATEST EPIC FUSES HISTORY AND MODERNITY IN HIS BOLD NEW FILM
When a number of your films are considered to be classics of world cinema, taught in schools and residing atop all time lists, the release of your newest film becomes an event. Francis Ford Coppola, the visionary director behind cinematic masterpieces like “The Godfather” and “Apocalypse Now”, has been working on “Megalopolis” for decades. The sheer scope, ambition, and personal investment that Coppola has poured into this project make it a landmark cinematic experience. For a director whose past projects can be very fairly described as ambitious, “Megalopolis” makes past endeavors seem conservative. The film, to be released in the fall by Lionsgate, strives to fuse inspirations as disparate as the Roman Empire, Shakespeare, Robert Moses, and Voltaire to name a few; is Coppola’s working theory of everything committed to film.
“Megalopolis” is a film that has been gestating in Coppola’s mind since the 1980’s, and its evolution is a fascinating story that reflects the director’s own personal and philosophical journey. From its origins as a script to its current incarnation as a cutting-edge, visually stunning epic, “Megalopolis” has been shaped by Coppola’s experiences, obsessions, and insights.
In the following director’s statement, Coppola offers a rare glimpse into the creative process behind “Megalopolis”. He shares his inspirations, his struggles, and his triumphs, providing a candid and insightful look at the artistic and intellectual currents that have driven this groundbreaking film.
As Coppola himself notes, “Megalopolis” is a film about the search for meaning and connection in a world that is increasingly fragmented and virtual.
director’s statement by francis ford coppola: The seeds for Megalopolis were planted when as a kid I saw H.G. Wells’ Things to Come. This 1930s Korda classic is about building the world of tomorrow, and has always been with me, first as the ‘boy scientist’ I was and later as a filmmaker.
I wasn’t really working on this screenplay for 40 years as I often see written, but rather I was collecting notes and clippings for a scrapbook of things I found interesting for some future screenplay, or examples of po-
“I believe in America. Our founders borrowed a constitution, Roman law, and Senate for their revolutionary government without a king.”
— Francis Ford Coppola
litical cartoons or different historical subjects. Ultimately after a lot of time I settled on the idea of a Roman epic. And then later, a Roman epic set in modern America, so I really only began writing this script, on and off, in the last dozen years or so. Also, as I have made many films of many different subjects and in many different styles, I hoped for a project later in life when I might better understand what my personal style was.
Always respecting the original writer in films I made, and always insisting that their names appear above the title, such as it was with Mario Puzo’s The Godfather, or Bram Stoker’s Dracula, it was only with The Rain People and The Conversation that it could have been permitted to have my own name as original writer on it; but then I was too insecure to present myself in such grandiosity. However, early on, I remember once I took 130 blank pages and put on a title page boldly announcing Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis and under that, All Roads Lead to Rome. I pretended it wasn’t totally blank, weighing it in my hands so I could imagine what one day it would feel like, and believe one day it could exist. Then later, once I had a draft, I must have rewritten it 300 times, hoping each rewrite would improve it, if only a half percent better.
I considered many possibilities, becoming interested in an incident known as “The Catiline Conspiracy,” accepting that modern America was the historical counterpart of ancient Rome and that the Catiline Conspiracy as told by historian Sallust could be set in Modern America, just as Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness was set in the Vietnam War in Apocalypse Now.
I began with the essence of a plot: perhaps an evil patrician (Catiline) plotted to overthrow the Republic, but was thwarted by Cicero, the consul. I renamed Catiline to Cesar as suggested by Mary Beard because in Suetonius’s version, young Julius Caesar was very much in cahoots with Catiline, and Cesar would be more familiar to audiences than Sergius (which was historical Catiline’s name). I wondered whether the traditional portrayal of Catiline as ‘evil’ and Cicero as ‘good’ was necessarily true. In history, Catiline lost and was killed and Cicero survived. But since the survivor tells the story, I wondered, what if what Catiline had in mind for his new society was a realignment of those in power and could have even in fact been ‘visionary’ and ‘good’, while Cicero perhaps could have been ‘reactionary’ and ‘bad’.
The story would take place in a somewhat stylized New York City, portrayed as the center of the power of the world, and Cicero would be the mayor during a time of great financial upheaval, such as the financial crisis under former Mayor Dinkins. Cesar, in turn, would be a master builder, a great architect, designer, and scientist combining elements of Robert Moses as portrayed in the brilliant biography The Power Broker, with architects like Frank Lloyd Wright, Raymond Loewy, Norman Bel Geddes, or Walter Gropius.
Step by step with these beginnings, I researched New York City’s most interesting cases from my scrapbooks: the Claude Von Bulow murder case, the Mary Cunningham/James Agee Bendix scandal, the emergence of Maria Bartiromo (a beautiful financial reporter nicknamed ‘The Money Honey’ coming from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange), the antics of Studio 54, and the city’s financial crisis itself (saved by Felix Rohatyn), so that everything in my story would be true and did happen either in modern New York or in Ancient Rome.
To that I added everything I had ever read or learned about.
In this work, Megalopolis, I wouldn’t have been able to make without standing as I do on the shoulders of G.B. Shaw, Voltaire, Rousseau, Bentham, Mill, Dickens, Emerson, Thoreau, Fuller, Fournier, Morris, Carlyle, Ruskin, Butler, and Wells all rolled into one; with Euripides, Thomas More, Moliere, Pirandello, Shakespeare, Beaumarchais, Swift, Kubrick, Murnau, Goethe, Plato, Aeschylus, Spinoza, Durrell, Ibsen, Abel Gance, Fellini, Visconti, Bergman, Bergson, Hesse, Hitchcock, Kurosawa, Cao Xueqin, Mizoguchi, Tolstoy, McCullough, Moses, and the prophets all thrown in.
Believing I had the basis of the project in 2001, I set up a production office in Park Slope, Brooklyn, and began to work. I did casting, table read-throughs, and had a 2nd unit led by brilliant photographer Ron Fricke, thinking it would be easier and cheaper to begin before we actually announced principal photography. The 2nd unit was shot with an early model Sony digital camera that I was risking would be of sufficient quality, to be shot through all seasons and of elements of vital activities of the city (food distribution, sewage, garbage disposal) for the rich and the poor. The script always had an element of an aging Soviet satellite falling out of orbit and falling
to earth, so we needed some shots of destruction and cleared areas, but of course no one could have anticipated the events of September 11th, 2001, and the tragedy of the World Trade Center. As we were shooting our 2nd unit at the time, we covered some of those heartbreaking images.
My first goal always is to make a film with all my heart, so I began to realize it would be about love and loyalty in every aspect of human life. Megalopolis echoed these sentiments, in which love was expressed in almost crystalline complexity, our planet in danger and our human family almost in an act of suicide, until becoming a very optimistic film that has faith in the human being to possess the genius to heal any problem put before us. I believe in America. Our founders borrowed a constitution, Roman law, and Senate for their revolutionary government without a king. American history could neither have taken place nor succeeded without classical learning to guide it. It’s my dream that Megalopolis will become a New Year’s Eve perennial favorite, with audiences discussing afterwards not their new diets, or resolutions not to smoke, but rather this simple question: “Is the society in which we live the only one available to us?”
US actor Giancarlo Esposito, US director Francis Ford Coppola and US actor Laurence Fishburne pose after the screening of the film “Megalopolis” at the 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 16, 2024. Photo by ANTONIN THUILLIER/AFP via Getty Images.
SUCCESSION
400
Edwin Austin Abbey. King Lear, Act I, Scene I (Cordelia’s Farewell)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Dates: 1897-1898
KENNETH BRANAGH’S KING LEAR AT THE SHED
King Lear and Cordelia by Ford Madox
Oil paint on canvas. This is one of three paintings by Ford Madox Brown illustrating Shakespeare’s play King Lear. This scene shows Lear with his youngest daughter, Cordelia, on the right. Lear’s doctor orders the musicians to play more loudly and awaken him. But Cordelia is anxious that her ailing father should sleep and she speaks the lament inscribed on the painting’s frame. In the play Lear divides his kingdom between his other two daughters and their husbands. But, after a painful period of self-discovery, he realises that Cordelia is his only true loving child.
an aging king’s decision on the future of the state divides his kingdom and sets off a devastating chain of events, showcasing the destructive potential of absolute power and the consequences of its misuse. The story is that of Shakespeare’s King Lear , set for a staging helmed by Kenneth Branagh at The Shed in New York City. The play’s themes of power and authority, family and loyalty, madness, and justice have made it relevant for centuries. This fall, the Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company (KBTC)’s new production of King Lear will have its exclusive US presentation at The Shed’s intimate 500-seat Griffin Theater for a strictly limited, 50-performance engagement.
Brown.
King
Three Daughters
Margaret Cameron, 1872
Bequest of Maurice B. Sendak, 2012
Performances begin on October 26, running through December 15, with the grand opening night set for November 14.
Branagh, celebrated for his masterful interpretations of Shakespearean roles, plays the title role set in the barbarous landscape of Ancient Britain. The esteemed actor’s portrayal of Lear completes his trifecta of great Shakespearean tragic roles, complementing his past appearances as Hamlet in his Academy Award-nominated film version of the play (1996) and as Macbeth in a celebrated immersive production (2014).
The cast features rising stars from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, bringing fresh talent and energy to the stage. The production is co-directed by Rob Ashford, Branagh, and Lucy Skilbeck, whose combined vision releases the play’s power and turmoil in a fast-paced staging. Their direction ensures that the play’s intense emotional landscape and intricate narrative are delivered with clarity and dynamism.
The London run of this production garnered rave reviews, setting high expectations for its New York debut. Jane Smith of The Times remarked, “Branagh’s Lear is a tour de force, a performance of such raw intensity and emotional depth that it leaves the audience breathless.” Theater critic Mark Kermode hailed it as “a masterclass in Shakespearean drama, where every element from staging to performance coalesces into a breathtaking experience.”
The themes explored in King Lear along with its plot seem pulled from the headlines or the work of a show runner from HBO’s Succession. The play examines the corrupting influence of power and the devastating consequences of its misuse. Lear’s decision to divide his kingdom based on flattery rather than merit sets off a catastrophic series of events, illustrating the dangers of irresponsible leadership. The destructive potential of absolute power is a central theme in King Lear. These themes mirror those explored in Succession, where the internal family struggle for control of a media empire echoes Lear’s tragic division of his kingdom. This theme is particularly resonant in today’s political climate, where questions of power, governance, and ethical leadership are continually in the spotlight.
Succession captivated audiences for years and ran up an impressive array of awards with themes and a storyline similar to King Lear. The bard’s play examines the complexities of family relationships and loyalty. Lear’s misguided trust in his deceitful daughters Goneril and Regan, contrasted with his rejection of the honest Cordelia, underscores the tragic consequences of familial betrayal and the fragile nature of familial bonds. These dynamics reflect modern societal challenges, where family ties are often tested by ambition and greed.
King Lear raises profound questions about justice and morality. The suffering of innocent characters and the apparent triumph of villainy challenge audiences to consider the nature of justice and the moral order of the universe. The play’s bleak yet insightful commentary on human nature and societal structures resonates deeply with today’s audiences.
The SpirIt of Sant Martí Vell
EXPLORING THE ARTISTIC LEGACY AND TRANQUIL BEAUTY OF ELSA PERETTI ’S RESTORED VILLAGE
nestled in the rolling hills of Catalonia, the picturesque village of Sant Martí Vell stands as a testament to the vision and passion of one of the most iconic designers of the 20th century, Elsa Peretti. For over twenty-five years, Peretti dedicated herself to revitalizing this charming enclave, a project that was as personal as it was ambitious. Elsa’s feelings are enshrined on a plaque in her private museum in the village, “For twenty-five years, I have been rebuilding a part of this small Catalan village. I think it has been worth all the effort. In Sant Martí Vell I find the strength to continue my work, the peace I need, the inspiration for my forms.”
Sant Martí Vell is more than just a restored village; it is a living, breathing canvas that encapsulates Peretti’s unique design philosophy. The narrow, winding streets, the meticulously restored facades, and the harmonious blend of old and new reflect her profound respect for history and tradition, coupled with her modern, minimalist aesthetic. As Elsa once said, “This is the meeting point for friends and collaborators. My twenty years with Tiffany are linked to Sant Martí Vell in an inseparable way that summarizes all that I love - people, animals, plants, objects, and...strong memories.”
As you wander through the village, you are enveloped in an atmosphere of tranquility and inspiration. The interiors of Sant Martí Vell are a masterclass in un-
derstated elegance. Clean lines, natural materials, and an earthy palette create spaces that are both functional and serene. Every detail, from the handcrafted furniture to the carefully chosen art pieces, speaks of Peretti’s impeccable taste and her ability to find beauty in simplicity.
The exteriors are equally captivating. The rustic stone buildings, with their terracotta roofs and ivy-covered walls, blend seamlessly with the surrounding landscape. Peretti’s love for nature is evident in the lush gardens that dot the village, providing splashes of color and a sense of vitality. It is easy to see how this environment could serve as a wellspring of creativity for an artist whose work has always been deeply connected to the natural world.
Peretti’s fascination with organic forms is a recurring theme in her work, and it finds a powerful expression in Sant Martí Vell. Her love for bones, for instance, is well-documented and somewhat controversial. “My love for bones has nothing macabre about it. As a child, I kept on visiting the cemetery of a seventeenth-century Capuchin church with my nanny. All the rooms were decorated with human bones. My mother had to send me back, time and again, with a stolen bone in my little purse. Things that are forbidden remain with you forever.” This childhood curiosity evolved into a profound appreciation for the elegance and strength of natural forms, which became a hallmark of her jewelry designs.
In many ways, Sant Martí Vell is a physical manifestation of Elsa Peretti’s artistic journey. It is a place where the past and present coexist in perfect harmony, where the boundaries between art and life blur. Through her tireless efforts, Peretti not only preserved a piece of Catalan heritage but also created a sanctuary where creativity and community flourish.
For those fortunate enough to visit Sant Martí Vell, the experience is nothing short of transformative. It is a place that invites introspection and inspires creativity, much like the designer herself. Elsa Peretti’s legacy is not just in the timeless pieces she created for Tiffany & Co. but also in the enduring beauty and spirit of this enchanting village.
Elsa Peretti Courtesy of Tiffany & Co.
Elsa Peretti® Bone cuff in 18k gold, medium motif, right wrist. Pages from Elsa Peretti’s sketchbook.
Elsa Peretti’s home in Sant Martí Vell, Casa Pequeña. Interior, featuring furniture, objects and artwork collected by the designer.
Gustav Klimt, Water Serpents I, 1904 (minor additions in 1907)
Photo: Belvedere, Vienna
Gustav Klimt, Water Serpents I, 1904 (minor additions in 1907), Infrared reflectography
Photo: Belvedere, Vienna
Klimt’s Lost Treasures Resurrected
DISCOVER THE CONTROVERSIAL AND SENSUAL WORLD OF KLIMT ’S LONG-LOST FACULTY PAINTINGS
gustav klimt, Austria’s most renowned artist, continues to fascinate audiences worldwide with his captivating works. An upcoming exhibit at the Belvedere Museum in Vienna will reveal two masterpieces, lost to time and war, as they likely appeared when first painted nearly a century ago. Beneath the surface of his iconic paintings lies a treasure trove of secrets that can now be recovered due to advancements in technology, providing the world with new insights into his world and works. The groundbreaking exhibition, running from February 21 to September 7, 2025, offers a unique glimpse into Klimt’s creative process, materials, and techniques.
The exhibition’s highlight is the reconstruction of Klimt’s legendary Faculty Paintings, destroyed during World War II. In collaboration with Google Arts & Culture, the Belvedere has employed artificial intelligence to recreate the paintings in their original colors. This process involved analyzing black-and-white photographs of the paintings, as well as studying Klimt’s other works and contemporaneous artistic trends and materials.
The Faculty Paintings’ controversial history is deeply rooted in the societal context of early 20th-century Vienna. At the time, the city was a hub of intellectual and artistic innovation, yet also a hotbed of conservatism and moral strictness. Klimt’s explicit and sensual depictions of naked figures, particularly women, challenged the traditional norms of art and morality. The paintings’
erotic undertones and perceived blasphemy sparked heated debates about art, morality, and censorship.
Klimt’s use of gold leaf and ornate decoration added to the controversy, as some saw it as an attempt to elevate profane subjects to a sacred level. The Faculty Paintings were commissioned by the University of Vienna, but they were never displayed at their intended location due to the backlash. Instead, they were relegated to storage, where they were ultimately destroyed during World War II.
The exhibition provides a rare opportunity to explore the artist’s intentions and the societal context in which these works were created. By examining Klimt’s preliminary sketches, materials, and techniques, visitors can gain a deeper understanding of his artistic process and the innovative spirit that drove him to push boundaries.
The Vienna Secession, a group of artists led by Klimt, sought to break away from traditional academic art and embrace a more modern and experimental approach. However, this shift was not without its challenges. Conservative forces, including the Church and government officials, pushed back against the perceived immorality and decadence of modern art.
Klimt’s Faculty Paintings were caught in the crossfire of this cultural war. The paintings’ explicit content and bold new style challenged the traditional norms
of art and morality, sparking a heated debate about the role of art in society. The controversy surrounding the paintings ultimately led to their downfall, as they were deemed too radical for public display.
The reconstruction of the Faculty Paintings is a testament to the power of technology in art restoration. The use of AI algorithms to recreate the paintings’ colors and textures has opened up new possibilities for the recovery of lost artworks. This collaboration between art and technology has not only shed new light on Klimt’s oeuvre but also paved the way for future discoveries and restorations.
In addition to the Faculty Paintings, the exhibition features a range of Klimt’s works, including “The Kiss” (1907-1908). This painting, one of Klimt’s most celebrated works, is showcased alongside a documentation of the techniques and materials used to create it. Visitors can learn about Klimt’s innovative use of gold leaf and his experimentation with different materials and techniques.
The exhibition also takes a close look into Klimt’s creative process, showcasing his preliminary drawings and sketches. These works offer a glimpse into the artist’s mind, revealing his thought process and artistic decisions. Visitors can see how Klimt refined his ideas, experimented with different techniques, and ultimately created some of his most iconic works.
Gustav Klimt, faculty image “The Philosophy”, 1900, recolorization after historical recording (2021) Austrian Gallery Belvedere, Vienna / Image by Google
Gustav Klimt, faculty picture “The Medicine”, 1901, recolorization after historical recording (2021) Austrian Gallery Belvedere, Vienna / Image by Google
Italian film director Federico Fellini at the cocktail party for ‘La Dolce Vita’ in Cinecittà with actor Marcello Mastroianni (left), actresses Anouk Aimée, Luise Rainer, Anita Ekberg and Yvonne Furneaux.
(Photo by Archivio Cicconi/Getty Images)
The Eternal Revival
ROME’S CULTURAL RENAISSANCE POST-WORLD WAR II
in fellini’s “la dolce vita”, we see a weary Marcello Mastroianni, drained from a night of debauchery, make his way to a commotion on the shores of a beach ahead. He and other decadent partygoers amble over to see what great haul the fishermen are pulling from the sea. In their net is a strange and amorphous fish with unblinking eyes. Some declare it a monster, others a thing of beauty, while one offers that it will make them rich. All Marcello can focus on are its eyes. He turns away, wanders alone from the group, and sees a young woman who had fascinated him earlier in the film. She attempts to communicate with him, but Marcello is too emotionally spent, disconnected, and lost to respond. A woman from the party beckons him away to join them as they seek some new pleasure. Marcello looks sadly at the girl, who had been established as a symbol of purity and truth—everything he had been seeking—and covers his face, walking away from her as the film ends and credits roll.
The film, released in 1960, perfectly captures the upheaval of meaning and values that Italy would face in the next decade and beyond. Something altogether different landed on the shores of Italy’s cultural consciousness that would have a profound impact on cinema, literature, and various art movements. The country of Da Vinci and Michelangelo turned to abstraction, with some painters literally taking a blade to their canvas, while some sculptors tried to capture the shape of music rather than the body. It was an abrupt shift of consciousness at a flashpoint in time that continues to resonate today.
Rome, a city steeped in millennia of history, found itself at a crossroads at the end of World War II. The devastation left behind was profound, but from the rubble emerged a city poised for an unparalleled cultural rebirth. This period, often referred to as the “Italian Economic Miracle,” transformed Rome into a beacon of artistic, cinematic, and economic resurgence, encapsulating the essence of “La Dolce Vita”—the sweet life.
The conclusion of World War II marked the beginning of an extraordinary economic revival for Italy. Fueled by the Marshall Plan, the late 1940s to early 1960s saw unprecedented industrial growth. Rome, as the epicenter, became a bustling metropolis where the ancient and modern coexisted harmoniously. The cityscape evolved, embodying the newfound prosperity and consumerism that defined the era.
The Marshall Plan, named after U.S. Secretary of State George Marshall, was a pivotal element in this transformation. It provided over $12 billion (approximately $130 billion in today’s currency) in economic assistance
to help rebuild Western European economies. Italy was one of the primary beneficiaries, receiving aid that revitalized its industries, infrastructure, and agricultural sectors. This influx of funds spurred industrialization, leading to rapid economic growth and modernization.
Rome’s transformation was not just economic but also social and cultural. The newfound prosperity brought with it a consumer revolution. Italians began to enjoy a higher standard of living, characterized by the acquisition of modern conveniences such as refrigerators, televisions, and automobiles. This era also saw the rise of a vibrant middle class, which played a crucial role in driving the cultural renaissance of the period.
The sudden increase in wealth and changing values marked a cultural shock for a country deeply rooted in tradition and morality. The “sweet life” or “la dolce vita” was a phenomenon that stood in stark contrast to the austerity and religious conservatism that had long characterized Italian society. This newfound affluence and hedonism were particularly disorienting for a nation steeped in centuries of Catholicism and historical grandeur.
Federico Fellini’s 1960 masterpiece, “La Dolce Vita,” epitomizes this cultural upheaval. The film captures the hedonistic spirit of post-war Rome, following journalist Marcello Rubini, played by Marcello Mastroianni, through the city’s nightlife and social circles. It’s a journey that reveals Rome’s dichotomy—its glamour and decadence, vitality and moral ambiguity. The iconic scene of Anita Ekberg wading through the Trevi Fountain symbolizes a baptism into a new era, blending ancient myth with contemporary allure.
American actor Charlton Heston and British actor Stephen Boyd, wearing stage costumes, having fun in riding a Vespa and a bicycle on the set of the film ‘Ben Hur’ in the studios of Cinecittà.
Italian photographer Pierluigi Praturlon is photographing them. Rome, 1958 (Photo by Pierluigi Praturlon/Reporters
Associati & Archivi/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images)
“La Dolce Vita” is more than just a film; it is a cultural artifact that embodies the complexities of postwar Rome. The film’s narrative structure, which eschews a traditional plot in favor of episodic vignettes, mirrors the fragmented nature of modern life. Fellini’s use of surreal and dreamlike imagery creates a visual language that captures the existential angst of the era. The film’s portrayal of the media, celebrity culture, and the search for meaning resonates with audiences to this day, making it a timeless classic.
Rome’s transformation extended into the world of cinema, which became the heartbeat of its cultural renaissance. The city turned into a sprawling film set, luring directors, actors, and screenwriters from across the globe. Cinecittà Studios, dubbed “Hollywood on the Tiber,” hosted the production of iconic blockbusters like “BenHur” (1959) and “Cleopatra” (1963). This influx of international talent and capital injected Rome with a unique global flair.
Cinecittà Studios, was initially intended to promote propaganda through film. However, in the post-war era, it was repurposed to serve as a hub for both Italian and international cinema. The studios became a magnet for Hollywood productions, offering an exotic location with lower production costs. This collaboration led to a cross-pollination of ideas and styles, enriching the cinematic landscape of Rome.
Hollywood’s presence in Rome also had a significant impact on the local film industry. Italian filmmakers were exposed to new techniques and storytelling methods, which they incorporated into their own work. This period saw the emergence of a distinct Italian cinematic style, characterized by a blend of neorealism and melodrama. Directors like Fellini, Michelangelo Antonioni, and Luchino Visconti pushed the boundaries of traditional filmmaking, creating works that were both artistically innovative and commercially successful.
Dino Risi’s “Il Sorpasso” (1962) provides another perspective on post-war Rome. This road comedy-drama explores the generational divide and the tension between tradition and modernity. Through the spontaneous journey of Bruno and Roberto, Risi portrays a nation in flux, caught between the optimism of economic progress and the existential void that often accompanies rapid modernization. “Il Sorpasso” encapsulates the essence of the
Italian Economic Miracle, juxtaposing the picturesque Italian landscape with shifting societal values.
“Il Sorpasso” is notable for its incisive social commentary. The character of Bruno, a brash and carefree Roman, embodies the new Italy—dynamic, ambitious, and often reckless. In contrast, Roberto, a timid law student, represents the old guard, struggling to adapt to the changing times. Their journey through the Italian countryside serves as a metaphor for the country’s transition, highlighting the disparities between urban and rural life, as well as the growing divide between the generations.
Risi’s film also captures the paradoxes of modernity. While the economic miracle brought prosperity and technological advancements, it also led to a sense of alienation and disconnection. “Il Sorpasso” explores these themes with humor and pathos, making it a poignant reflection on the costs of progress.
The 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome were a defining moment in the city’s renaissance. Beyond a sporting event, the Olympics showcased Italy’s recovery and modernization to the world. The games highlighted Rome’s unique blend of ancient grandeur and modern vitality, reinforcing its position on the global stage.
The event was a logistical challenge, requiring extensive infrastructure development, including new sports facilities, transportation networks, and accommodations. The most iconic of these developments was the Stadio Olimpico, which served as the main venue for the games.
The 1960 Olympics were significant not only for their athletic achievements but also for their cultural impact. The games were the first to be fully televised, bringing the spectacle into homes around the world. This exposure helped to solidify Rome’s image as a city of rebirth and modernity.
While the economic boom and cinematic achievements were pivotal, Rome’s art scene also flourished remarkably. This period saw the emergence of a distinct Italian Pop Art movement, a response to both American Pop Art and the socio-political environment of post-war Italy. Italian artists sought to create works that reflected their unique cultural heritage while engaging with contemporary themes of consumerism, media, and modernity. The newfound affluence and changing values profoundly influenced artists, leading them to reimagine what could be represented and how it could be represented.
Torchbearer Running Towards The Olympic Tripod Giancarlo Peris, last torchbearer of the Games of the XVII Games Olympiad of Rome, is running on the athletic field to reach the Olympic tripod and light up the Olympic flame. Rome, August 25, 1960. (Photo by Angelo Cozzi;Mario De Biasi;Sergio Del Grande;Walter Mori/Mondadori via Getty Images)
Mario Schifano was one of the most influential figures of the Italian Pop Art movement. His works often critiqued mass media and consumer culture, drawing parallels with American Pop Art while maintaining a distinctly Italian sensibility. Schifano’s use of vibrant colors, simplified forms, and incorporation of everyday objects made his art accessible yet thought-provoking.
Schifano’s early works, such as his monochromatic canvases, were inspired by the simplicity and immediacy of road signs and advertising billboards. However, he soon moved towards more complex compositions, integrating images from television and cinema. Schifano’s series of paintings based on the Coca-Cola logo is particularly iconic, reflecting his fascination with the omnipresence of American culture in post-war Italy. These works not only comment on the pervasive influence of American consumerism but also explore themes of identity and cultural exchange.
Sergio Lombardo’s work focused on the human form and the power of gesture. His “gesturing silhouettes” series is a testament to his interest in movement and the psychological impact of bodily expressions. Lombardo’s silhouettes are both dynamic and enigmatic, capturing moments of action frozen in time.
Lombardo’s approach was to strip down the human form to its most basic, abstracted essence, emphasizing the power of gesture and movement over detailed
representation. This minimalism was a conscious departure from the more elaborate styles of the past, reflecting the modernist desire to find purity in simplicity. Lombardo’s silhouettes, often rendered in stark black and white, evoke a sense of immediacy and raw emotion, making them timeless pieces of modern art.
Sergio Lombardo, JFK (01), 1962, enamel on canvas-backed paper, 39.3” x 27.5” (99.82 cm x 69.85 cm), photography by Giorgio Benni, courtesy Archivio Sergio Lombardo
Portrait of Sergio Lombardo, courtesy Archivio Sergio Lombardo
Fausto Melotti, another key figure of this period, brought a poetic sensibility to sculpture. His work “The Seven Sages” is a notable example of his ability to blend abstraction with lyrical elegance. The sculpture, composed of slender, vertical forms, evokes a sense of balance and harmony, reflecting Melotti’s interest in music and mathematics.
Melotti’s sculptures are characterized by their lightness and delicacy. Unlike traditional sculpture, which often emphasizes mass and solidity, Melotti’s works seem
to defy gravity, creating a sense of weightlessness and fluidity. This ethereal quality is enhanced by his use of materials such as wire and metal, which he manipulated to create intricate, lattice-like structures. “The Seven Sages” is a testament to Melotti’s ability to convey complex ideas through simple, elegant forms, making him a pivotal figure in the evolution of modern sculpture.
Beyond prominent figures like Schifano and Lombardo, several other artists significantly contributed to Rome’s cultural renaissance, each bringing a unique perspective that enriched the Italian art scene. The Italian artist Tancredi Parmeggiani was one of the few artists, along with the American Jackson Pollock, whom Peggy Guggenheim placed under contract. She promoted his work extensively, making it known to museums and collectors in the US, and organized exhibitions for him, including one in 1954 at her home, Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, which is now the Guggenheim Foundation’s museum in Venice.
Parmeggiani’s work stands out for its vibrant color palette and innovative layering techniques. Much like
Pollock, Parmeggiani explored the potential of abstract expressionism through dynamic compositions and a spontaneous painting process. His paintings often feature swirling patterns and textured surfaces, which reflect the energy and movement that defined much of the 1960s art scene in Rome. Amidst the backdrop of a rapidly changing world and the introduction of new ideas in art, such as the Pop Art movement and notions of consumerism, Parmeggiani’s work offered a unique blend of abstraction and expressionism. His art captured the essence of this transformative period, paralleling Pollock’s approach in the US by intertwining traditional Italian art forms with modern techniques and contributing to the broader dialogue on the evolving dynamics of contemporary art.
Beatrice Monti e Tancredi Parmeggiani, Galleria dell’Ariete, Milano, 1961
Mario De Luigi’s Grattage series is a nuanced exploration of texture and abstraction, characterized by a unique technique of scraping paint to reveal underlying layers. This process, which De Luigi refined in the 1960s, involved applying layers of paint to a canvas and then using a scraping tool to remove parts of the top layer, exposing the colors beneath. This approach allowed De Luigi to achieve a sense of depth and complexity in his works, as well as a tactile quality that invites the viewer to engage with the surface of the painting.
De Luigi’s technique and the resulting works distinguished him among his contemporaries and contributed to the broader narrative of abstract expressionism. The Grattage series was well-received by critics and artists of the time, who appreciated its unique blend of process and visual effect. Today, the series is celebrated for its intricate surfaces and the sense of depth and complexity they create, as well as its importance in the development of abstract expressionism.
Mario De Luigi in his Studio, 1968, courtesy Galleria Tommaso Calabro
Mario De Luigi, Grattage G.N. 102, 1957, Oil and grattage on canvas, Courtesy Galleria Tommaso Calabro
“Everything that moves in space is measurement and poetry. Painting searches in signs and color for the rhythm of these two forces, aiding and noting their fusion.”
— Bice Lazzari
Bice Lazzari’s paintings are often described as visual music. Her abstract compositions, characterized by rhythmic patterns and subtle color gradations, evoke a sense of movement and harmony. Lazzari’s work reflects her deep interest in the relationship between art and music, and her ability to translate auditory experiences into visual form is a testament to her innovative spirit.
Bice Lazzari, Intersecazione, 1953, Oil on canvas, 48 x 56 cm
Portrait Bice Lazzari, photography by Alfredo Libero Ferretti, courtesy Richard Saltoun Gallery, London and Rome
Photo of Turi Simeti, New York, 1967
Photograph by Carole Campbell, courtesy Galerie Volker Diehl x Dep Art Gallery
Turi Simetti’s red oval paintings are an exploration of geometric abstraction, characterized by their minimalist aesthetic and vibrant use of color. His work in the 1960s stood out for its bold simplicity, focusing on the interplay of light and shadow on his meticulously crafted ovals. Simetti’s contributions were significant in the post-war Italian avant-garde movement, aligning with the Spatialism and Arte Povera movements, which sought to redefine the boundaries of contemporary art.
Turi Simetti, 8 ovali rossi, 1966, acrylics on shaped canvas, 27.5” x 14” (69.85 cm x 35.56 cm),
courtesy Galerie Volker Diehl x Dep Art Gallery
“To be really immortal a work of art must go beyond the limits of the human: good sense and logic will be missing from it. In this way, it will come close to the dream state, and also to the mentality of children.” — Giorgio de Chirico
Giorgio de Chirico, an Italian artist known for his metaphysical painting, had a profound influence on the cultural scene of the 1960s. His work, which began in the early 20th century, continued to inspire a new generation of artists during this transformative decade.
In the 1960s, de Chirico’s earlier metaphysical paintings, characterized by eerie, dream-like scenes with classical architecture and enigmatic figures, were re-evaluated and celebrated by contemporary artists and critics. These works, created during the 1910s and 1920s, were considered precursors to Surrealism and influenced many artists interested in exploring themes of existentialism and the unconscious.
During this period, de Chirico himself experienced a resurgence of interest and continued to be active in the art world. He revisited and reinterpreted his earlier metaphysical style, which resonated with the evolving art movements of the time, such as Pop Art and Conceptual Art. His ability
to blend classical motifs with modernist sensibilities made his work relevant to the contemporary art scene. De Chirico’s influence extended to artists across Europe and America. His metaphysical paintings inspired American Pop artists like Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, who were drawn to his use of iconic imagery and exploration of the uncanny. Italian artists, including those involved in the Arte Povera movement, also found inspiration in de Chirico’s blending of past and present, as they sought to challenge traditional notions of art and materiality
Moreover, de Chirico’s work was featured in significant exhibitions during the 1960s, further cementing his impact on the decade’s cultural landscape. His participation in major art events, such as the Venice Biennale, brought his metaphysical style to a broader audience and solidified his status as a pivotal figure of the period and beyond.
61 × 50.2 cm (24 x 19 3/4 in.), Museum of Modern Art, New York
“If the road movie has a home, it’s surely the United States…. Yet strangely, what may be the greatest road movie comes not from America but from the tiny, longsettled Italy of 1962.”
— John Powers, Film Critic
The relationship between art and cinema during this period was symbiotic. Italian filmmakers and artists often collaborated, drawing inspiration from each other’s work. This cross-pollination led to a vibrant cultural scene where boundaries between different art forms were blurred.
Federico Fellini, for instance, was known for his close ties with contemporary artists. His films often featured set designs and costumes inspired by the works of painters and sculptors. The visual style of “La Dolce Vita” and his later works bore the influence of Arte Povera and other avant-garde movements. Fellini’s ability to create dreamlike, almost painterly images on screen was a testament to the interplay between cinema and visual arts.
Similarly, artists like Piero Manzoni and Lucio Fontana were influenced by the cinematic techniques of the time. Manzoni’s concept of the “artist’s breath” and Fontana’s exploration of space and light in his “Spatial Concept” series echoed the innovative approaches of filmmakers like Fellini and Antonioni. This artistic exchange created a fertile ground for experimentation and creativity, leading to groundbreaking works in both cinema and visual arts.
The post-war cultural landscape of Rome is a testament to its enduring spirit. The economic prosperity, artistic innovation, and cinematic milestones of this era have left an indelible mark on the world. Rome emerged
from the ashes of war as a symbol of resilience and creativity, a city that could honor its ancient heritage while embracing modernity.
The legacy of this cultural renaissance continues to inspire generations of artists, filmmakers, and cultural enthusiasts. The films of Fellini and Risi remain influential, studied in film schools and celebrated at international festivals. Their work not only captures the essence of a specific historical period but also addresses universal themes that resonate with audiences today.
The impact of the Italian Pop Art movement and the contributions of these artists can be seen in contemporary art practices around the world. Their innovative approaches to form, color, and material have paved the way for new generations of artists to explore the boundaries of art and expression. The period’s emphasis on blending traditional and modern elements continues to inform the work of contemporary artists, ensuring that the legacy of Rome’s cultural renaissance endures.
As visitors wander through Rome’s storied streets, they are immersed in a living museum where every corner narrates a tale of transformation, resilience, and the eternal pursuit of “La Dolce Vita.” The city’s rich artistic heritage, shaped by the visionaries of the post-war era, continues to thrive, reminding us of the enduring power of art to inspire, challenge, and transform society.
Jean-Louis Trintignant e Vittorio Gassman in a scene from Il sorpasso (1962)
The hiker above the Sea of Fog (1817) Der Wanderer über dem Nebelmeer) Oil on canvas, 98 x 74 cm (38.5 x 29.1 in). Hamburger Kunsthalle Caspar David Friedrich, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Solitary Figure
THE TIMELESS ALLURE OF CASPAR DAVID FRIEDRICH
in the early 19th century, painters traditionally represented landscapes as mere backdrops for religious or mythological scenes. They were the curtain and not the show. However, with the emergence of Caspar David Friedrich, a new era of landscape painting dawned, one that would forever alter the way we perceive and interact with nature and the very notion of “self” represented in the world. Friedrich’s novel approach centered on making nature the primary subject, rather than a mere accompaniment to human drama. This radical shift in focus stirred controversy within the establishment but also set in motion a style of pictorial rendering that resonated so deeply with the cultural and philosophical currents of his time that its effects can still be felt today.
Friedrich’s emphasis on nature as the core subject was a bold departure from the conventional norms of landscape painting. By doing so, he was, in effect, declaring the sacredness of the earth itself, imbuing the natural world with a sense of spirituality and mystique. This approach was deeply rooted in the Romantic movement’s emphasis on the sublime, the beauty and terror that lies at the heart of nature.
Friedrich’s emphasis on nature as the primary subject was also a response to the rapid industrialization transforming his native Dresden. During his lifetime, the
city underwent significant changes, as the Industrial Revolution brought new factories, machines, and technologies that altered the urban landscape. The once pristine rivers and forests surrounding Dresden became increasingly polluted, and the air grew thick with smoke and soot. Friedrich’s paintings can be seen as a lament for the loss of a simpler, more harmonious relationship between humanity and nature.
In Dresden, Friedrich witnessed firsthand the impact of industrialization on the environment and the human experience. The city’s rapid growth and urbanization led to the displacement of traditional crafts and ways of life, as well as the degradation of the natural world. Friedrich’s paintings, with their emphasis on the sublime and the spiritual essence of nature, offered a powerful counterpoint to the industrialization and urbanization sweeping across Europe. By focusing on the beauty and mystery of the natural world, Friedrich’s vistas provided
a respite from the chaos and dislocation of modern life.
Friedrich’s own experiences in Dresden also influenced his artistic vision. The city’s unique blend of Gothic and Baroque architecture, set amidst the rolling hills and forests of Saxony, inspired many of his landscapes. The Elbe River, which ran through the heart of Dresden, became a recurring motif in his work, symbolizing the connection between nature and humanity. As the Industrial Revolution transformed the city, Friedrich’s paintings increasingly emphasized the fragility and beauty of the natural world, serving as a poignant reminder of what was being lost in the midst of progress.
Friedrich’s use of the Rückenfigur, a solitary figure seen from behind, added another layer of depth to his paintings. This motif, which has become ubiquitous in modern photography, was a radical innovation in Friedrich’s time. By turning the figure’s back to the viewer, Friedrich emphasized the individual’s solitary journey into the unknown, inviting the viewer to project their own emotions and experiences onto the scene.
One of Friedrich’s most iconic paintings, “Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog” (1818), illustrates the Rückenfigur in a quintessential way. A lone figure, perched atop a rocky outcropping, gazes out into a sea of fog, symbolizing
Woman in front of the setting sun Caspar David Friedrich , 1818 Oil on canvas
the human quest for meaning and transcendence. The wanderer’s back is turned to the viewer, emphasizing the individual’s solitary journey and inviting the viewer to imagine the thoughts and sensation the figure must be experiencing whether awe, reverence or something more triumphant.
Another seminal work, “Monk by the Sea” (18081810), exemplifies the Rückenfigur approach while also nearly verging into the world of abstraction. Were it not for the small figure of a lonely monk the painting could be seen as resembling a Rothko. The monk stands at the edge of a vast, misty expanse, with an almighty force of some great power looming above him in the heavens. The monk’s gaze is inward, whether from humility, fear, reverence, or despair is for the viewer to decide. One thing is clear, our collective gaze is drawn outward, into the infinite vastness of the sea and sky.
Friedrich’s paintings, with their emphasis on the sublime and the spiritual essence of nature, speak to the current era’s anxieties and concerns. As countries, industries and populations grapple with the challenges of climate change, environmental degradation, and the erosion of a proper connection to the natural world, Friedrich’s works offer a compelling reminder of the importance of preserving a healthy relationship with the earth. The Romantic movement’s emphasis on the beauty and the potential terror of nature resonates deeply with these times, as we confront the challenges and seek alternatives to live in harmony with the environment.
Friedrich’s art offers a powerful lens through which to examine these issues. With several major retrospectives and exhibits planned for the coming years, including the first comprehensive retrospective of his work in the United States at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Friedrich’s work is poised to reach a new generation of audiences. These exhibitions will provide a timely opportunity to reevaluate the artist’s contribution to the Romantic movement and his enduring influence on contemporary art and culture.
The Legacy of Walter Albini
PIONEERING DESIGNER OF THE 1970S WHO SHAPED THE ITALIAN FASHION SYSTEM, LEADING THE SHIFT FROM HAUTE COUTURE TO READY-TO-WEAR
before gender-fluid clothing and inclusivity became buzzwords in the fashion industry, there was Walter Albini. The late Italian designer, who passed away in 1983 at the age of 42, is heralded as the noble father of Italy’s readyto-wear industry.
Walter Albini was arguably Italy’s first “superstar” fashion designer. His innovative thinking led to the development of the Italian fashion system as we know it. Long before the term was coined, Albini was a Creative Director, deeply involved in all aspects of the process. He not only designed but also oversaw production, created promotional art, and redefined how runway shows were conducted. His pioneering approach to brand identity involved placing the designer’s name on the label, elevating the prestige of the artistry and inviting designers into the spotlight.
Albini often blurred gender stereotypes, incorporating elements traditionally seen in menswear, such as tailoring, into womenswear. This reflected his vision of clothing as a means for the wearer to assume different roles. More importantly, it was his way of engaging in larger cultural conversations and weaving societal topics into his collections. During the 1960s and 1970s, Albini’s unisex designs challenged conventional gender norms in fashion. Women embraced his masculine-inspired clothing for its comfort and modernity, reflecting a desire to distinguish themselves from previous generations. This approach laid the groundwork for today’s gender-fluid
fashion, where clothing transcends traditional gender boundaries. Albini’s revolutionary ideas included creating unified collections for multiple fashion houses and collaborating on production techniques, such as printed fabrics with Etro. He emphasized the relationship between design and production, which became a staple for future designers. Albini’s work was foundational in building the “Made in Italy” movement, challenging France’s dominance in haute couture and giving birth to ready-to-wear fashion. Albini’s ideal woman was a blend of elegance and nonchalance. This nuanced vision extended to his personal life, where he explored interior design, a pioneering move in an era where fashion and home decor were distinct realms.
A recent exhibition in Italy at the Museo Del Tessuto in Prato aimed to piece together the mosaic of Albi-
Vogue Italia, aprile 1971. Collezione P/E 1971, Walter Albini per Montedoro. Foto: Archivio Alfa Castaldi
Walter Albini, 1972
Disegno per press release
MaGta, china, tempera su carta Collezione WA, P/E 1973 Museo del Tessuto, inv. n. 14.05.c104
Foto: Archivio Museo del Tessuto
Albini on his ideal woman:
“not too sporty, but with an air of someone who practises sports . . . [she] smokes a lot, travels but isn’t necessarily married . . . she works but she looks like she’s perennially on holiday she’s elegant, mysterious, lonely, not necessarily beautiful, but surely irresistible.”
ni’s vision, displaying designs never produced or shown publicly. The retrospective honored Albini’s contributions and highlighted his solitary nature as an individualist who stood apart from the collaborative circles that defined other designers of his era.
Walter Albini’s work continues to resonate in today’s fashion world, inspiring designers globally. His unisex creations and total look concept paved the way for today’s focus on gender-fluid fashion and inclusivity. As the brand undergoes a renaissance, Albini’s visionary legacy is set to inspire a new generation, reaffirming his place as a trailblazer in fashion history.
Walter Albini,
Vogue Italia, aprile 1971. Collezione P/E 1971, Walter Albini per Montedoro.
Foto: Archivio Alfa Castaldi
“His way of mining fashion history for themes to reinterpret in his collections positioned him as an Italian counterpoint to Paris-based contemporaries like Karl Lagerfeld and Yves Saint Laurent, and a precursor to titans of Italian ready-to-wear like Giorgio Armani and Gianni Versace.”
Robert Williams “The Business of Fashion’, 2023
Walter Albini, campagna
Independent 20th Century 2024
BACK FOR ITS THIRD EDITION, THE NEW YORK FAIR IS BLAZING TRAILS FOR A BIGGER AND BOLDER HISTORY OF MODERN ART
PHOTOGRAPH BY ALEXA HOYER
Inviting new discoveries for an informed contemporary art audience is Independent’s signature. Three years ago, the beloved art fair founded Independent 20th Century, a curated event with a mission to dig deeper into the past and define a more diverse canon of global art history. Inspired by the rich historical setting of the Battery Maritime Building, the fair returns to Casa Cipriani in downtown Manhattan on September 5–8 with a curated show of art between 1900 and 2000 featuring 30+ galleries from around the world. We discover the stories behind five Independent 20th Century booths not to miss, from Heitor dos Prazeres’s proud visions of Afro-Brazilian culture to the towering printmaking talents of Pablo Picasso.
Heitor dos Prazeres: Samba Legend and Painter
BY GABRIELLA ANGELETI
heitor dos prazeres is fondly remembered in Brazil as a samba legend, who made classics like “Vai Saudade” in 1965. But his parallel trajectory as an artist was somewhat forgotten until recently, when his paintings celebrating the diasporic Black experience in Brazil have won renewed acclaim.
US audiences will have a chance to discover this multifaceted figure in September at Independent 20th Century in New York, where Heitor’s works will be jointly exhibited by Galatea and Simões de Assis, two Brazilian galleries that are actively building value, in both critical discourse and the market, for the country’s artists who have been overlooked by 20th-century art history.
Heitor invests his scenes of Afro-Brazilian life—carnival, samba musicians and dancers, religious ceremonies, the favelas, and capoeira—with a rhythmic and dynamic quality. His stylized, two-dimensional figures, whether set in the countryside or in Rio de Janeiro, are animated and exuberant, reflecting “his own vision of Black life and Black people,” says Fernanda Morse, a researcher at Galatea. “They are proud, happy, and strong.”
Born in Rio de Janeiro in 1898, Heitor had already achieved some acclaim nationally and internationally by the 1940s. He was the only Black artist featured in a Brazilian war relief exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts in London in 1944. A much-repeated story goes that his depiction of a midsummer festival, Festa de São João, inspired the then Princess Elizabeth of England to ask, “Who is this extraordinary painter?”
Another breakthrough came in 1951, when Heitor’s painting of workers on a sugar plantation, Moenda, came in third place in the first São Paulo Biennial. He was honored with a special room in the second edition in 1953, and in between was included in the 26th Venice Biennale.
Heitor worked up until his death in October 1966 from pancreatic cancer, even making art and music from his hospital bed in Rio de Janeiro. Just a few months earlier he had participated in the seminal first edition of the World Festival of Black Arts in Dakar, Senegal.
Yet despite his success, it is only in recent years that scholars and curators have reappraised the longtime labeling of Heitor’s painting as “naive,” which diminished his importance in the history of Brazilian
modern art. A major retrospective was held last year at the Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil in Rio de Janeiro, reframing his multiple contributions to visual art, music, design, and fashion through more than 200 works.
One of the paintings from that exhibition will also appear at Independent 20th Century. A dynamic samba scene from around 1963, it hints at Heitor’s legacy as a founding member of three of the oldest samba schools in Rio de Janeiro: Deixa Falar, Mangueira, and Portela, established in the 1920s.
This will hang with another late-career work from 1961, showing a man wielding a knife as he advances towards another figure. Widely reproduced in the media during Heitor’s lifetime, the street scene was displayed in a 1964 exhibition in Rio de Janeiro where his band, Heitor de Brasileiros e Sua Gente, performed at the opening.
Gallerists Guilherme and Laura Simões de Assis began procuring the artist’s paintings after an introduction to his work by the late Emanoel Araújo, the founder of São Paulo’s Museu Afro Brasil. The Simões de Assis gallery is now collaborating with researchers and private
Heitor dos Prazeres (Untitled], 1961, Oil on canvas, 55 x 46 cm [21 5/8 x 18 1/8 in)
Courtesy Galatea & Simões de Assis, Photo by Ding Musa
Heitor dos Prazeres at his studio, 1963, photography by Patrik Ward, courtesy Collection Getty Images
collectors to catalog his oeuvre, which has been almost entirely dispersed in private collections.
Proving Heitor’s hand in the paintings is critical, says the curator Ademar Britto, who organized a gallery exhibition placing the artist’s work in dialogue with contemporary artist Zéh Palito. As Heitor’s fame grew, he ran a workshop of assistants to keep up with demand, so some examples do not represent the full breadth and quality of his practice, and several counterfeits have surfaced over the years.
The artist’s vibrant downtown atelier in Praça XI, Rio’s so-called “Little Africa,” was captured in a 1965 documentary by the filmmaker Antonio Carlos da Fontoura, in which Heitor asserted his belief that his paintings were inseparable from the people and places around him.
One work coming to Independent, Untitled (Macumba), directly addresses the religious rituals of the Afro-Brazilian community. It shows a bearded man with
a sacrificial chicken evoking a “Preto Velho,” a figure believed to represent the souls of deceased African slaves.
“Later in his life, Heitor saw himself as a Preto Velho,” Britto says. “As an artist, he was proudly teaching people about the music, dances and rituals involved in macumba, and advocating for the Afro-Brazilian religions that were prohibited and criminalized at the time—and that still face much prejudice today. It was radically political.”
As Heitor expressed in his own words at the time, “The joy of these people, the suffering of these people is what compels me to work. It’s what makes me transport the suffering of the people to the canvas. These people are me, the man of the people.”
Gabriella Angeleti is an arts and culture writer and editor based between Brooklyn and Rio de Janeiro. Her writing focuses on South American art, Indigenous art, art in the American high desert, archeological and cultural heritage conservation, and the intersection of art and the environment.
Heitor dos Prazeres, Macumba, 1965, Oil on canvas, 49.2 x 59.5 cm [19 3/8 x 23 3/8 in]
Courtesy Galatea & Simões de Assis, Photo by Ding Musa
Heitor dos Prazeres [Untitled], 1960, Oil on eucatex, 85.5 x 60.5 cm [33 5/8 x 23 7/8 in]
Courtesy Galatea & Simões de Assis, Photo by Ding Musa
Heinz Mack: Sculptor of Light
BY JOHN CHIAVERINA
for close to seven decades , the German artist Heinz Mack has been making paintings and sculptures that harness and explore the intrinsic beauty of light.
Mack sealed his place in art history in 1957 when, as a new graduate from the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, he co-founded the ZERO movement, a loose collective of artists concerned with the fundamentals of color, space, and motion. ZERO’s sleek, minimal aesthetic set out a new vision for post-war art that would prove influential for a constellation of artists worldwide, including Yves Klein and Yayoi Kusama.
The group disbanded in 1966 and Mack went on to produce some of his best-known works. In the Sahara Project, an idea first conceived in 1959, he installed a series of light-reflecting sculptures in the Tunisian desert that seemed to play with the inherent otherworldliness of that landscape. The ephemeral work was captured in the 1968 film Tele-Mack. The artist appears decked out in a silvery space-age suit to match his gleaming sculptures— so numinous that it’s hard to believe they weren’t created with special effects technology. In a sense, they were: the special effect was light.
What is less remembered is Mack’s ceramics practice, which blossomed in the 1990s and continues to this day. It should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with the artist’s oeuvre that his work with clay and fire serves as an extension of his lifelong obsession with luminosity. “He adapts the medium of ceramics to his idea to work
directly with light,” explains the scholar and Mack biographer Robert Fleck, professor of art and the public sphere at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf.
For this year’s Independent 20th Century, Beck & Eggeling International Fine Art in collaboration with the Mack Foundation will present a solo exhibition focused on ceramic work made by the artist in the 1990s and 2010s.
Though Mack had used clay in the creation of maquettes for larger sculptures, it wasn’t until the 1990s that he became prolific in the medium, producing a staggering 200 works in 1997 alone. One untitled piece from that year, which will feature in the Independent show, is a lopsided geometric shape glazed in burnished gold. “The coating of the ceramics creates a certain kind of an optical effect,” Fleck observes. A work from 20 years later has a similar metallic iridescence, this time glazed with burnished platinum.
“Compared to the ceramics of contemporary artists, I have to say that I have not produced plates and vases like Picasso or archaic patinas like Miró,” says Mack in a written interview. “From the very beginning of my work with clay, I had the intention of making this kind of work with my strict feeling for sculpture.”
The connection between Mack’s primary artistic media and the smaller-scale ceramics coming to Independent is evident—it’s all in the surfaces. “I pay attention to the surfaces of my sculptures from the fire, as the light
should be refracted, reflected, inhaled, and exhaled, just as in my light reliefs,” Mack says, referring to his pivotal ZERO-era works in polished aluminum. Indeed, an untitled ceramic from 2016 assumes the form of a relief, a grid-like pattern of burnished gold.
“I appreciate gold, silver, platinum, white or deep black color, but also very clear intense monochrome colors,” Mack adds. “In this sense, there is a close relationship to my paintings.” A piece from 1997 offers a pure starburst of yellow.
Mack’s ceramic sculptures can give the viewer a sense of temporal vertigo. They are somehow both elemental and futuristic, of our time and a continuum with an ancient practice. In many ways, they are the perfect form for the 93-year-old artist to push his more forward-thinking ideas into the shadow of history.
“Ceramics are not only among the oldest artifacts known to mankind, but have also survived for thousands of years without showing the slightest trace of patina,” he says. “Perhaps in old age the artist has a deeper, unconscious interest in objects that can become very old with dignity.”
John Chiaverina is a writer based in New York City. He has contributed to publications including ARTnews and T: The New York Times Style Magazine. He is currently editorial coordinator for the music platform Nina.
Julia Isídrez and Maria Lira Marques: Hands of Clay
BY GABRIELLA ANGELETI
artists julia isídrez, from Paraguay, and Maria Lira Marques, from Brazil, will feature jointly in a presentation by Gomide&Co at Independent 20th Century this September. For Thiago Gomide, the founder of the São Paulo-based gallery, it is a fitting pairing that reveals striking parallels between their respective practices in ceramics and deep roots in their home communities.
Both Isídrez and Marques produce works that are profoundly connected to the nature and culture of their native regions, where the spiritual and artmaking practices of Indigenous and African populations have been syncretized with European customs for centuries. Combining traditional and contemporary elements, local materials and a dreamlike visual language, they learned their craft from the generations who came before them.
According to Gomide, who has spent time with the artists in their studios, they are doing all this in places “where nature doesn’t give much.” These arid landscapes would be virtually uninhabitable were it not for the rivers that run through them. Ceramics are a necessary lifeline for many in the community “because that is what they can do with what they have around them—which is fire, water, and dirt.”
A fourth-generation Guaraní ceramicist, Isídrez was born in 1967 in Itá, a colonial town nicknamed the “capital of ceramics,” where Jesuit missionaries settled in the 17th century. She learned the craft from her late mother, Juana Marta Rodas, who was celebrated as a national treasure in her lifetime (and had been taught by her own mother). Their works are often exhibited side by side, as they appear in Adriano Pedrosa’s 60th Venice Biennale, Stranieri Ovunque—Foreigners Everywhere
Using ancestral firing and hand-modeling techniques, Isídrez works the black clay of the Paraná River into her signature anthropomorphic forms. Her work honors the generations of ceramicists who preceded her and her mother but were excluded from the art circuit, instead selling their creations at street fairs in Itá and other local marketplaces.
Marques, of Maxakali and Quilombo descent, was born in 1945 in Araçuaí, a town in the Jequitinhonha River Valley in Brazil’s Minas Gerais state, where destructive open-pit mines have been encroaching on Indigenous land since the 17th century. Her earliest sculptures were made with leftover beeswax from her father’s shoe repair business, which she held near a fire and hand-molded.
She later learned ceramics from her mother, Odília Borges Nogueira, an untrained artist who produced Christmas nativity scenes using mud from the Araçuaí River. Marques has said that she wanted her ceramics to capture the distinct traces of Black and Indigenous people’s faces. She stopped working in the medium in the 1990s, when she developed arthritis in both arms and was no longer able to procure materials and fire pieces. Turning to painting with natural pigments, animal forms emerged in her work, which the artist has called Meus bichos do sertão, “my animals from the backlands.” The zoomorphic figures—such as a fish with legs, or a chicken with a long tail—come “from my own head,” the artist has said, and the memories of her region.
Although Marques and Isídrez have risen to national and international acclaim, both still reside in their hometowns and work to support and preserve the local arts ecosystems. In 2022 Isídrez founded a museum in her and mother’s names that also promotes the work of other ceramicists, including several she has mentored in her workshop in Itá. Marques, meanwhile, founded the Museum of Araçuaí in 2010 alongside her longtime collaborator, Francisco “Xico” van der Poel, a
Portrait of Maria Lira Marques Courtesy of Gomide&Co, São Paulo
Maria Lira Marques, Sem título [Untitled], 1990’s - 2000’s, natural pigments on paper, 18 1/2 x 24 1/2 in, Courtesy of the artist and Gomide&Co
Maria Lira Marques, Sem título [Untitled], 1980, ceramics, 13 x 9 1/2 in, Courtesy of the artist and Gomide&Co
Dutch friar who has written extensively about the folk art of the region.
“Marques and Xico realized that some centuries-old traditions in the arts, music, and literature were dying because the younger generations were not particularly interested in them,” Gomide explains. “They spent around 20 years cataloging the religious parties, costumes, street parades, and art of Araçuaí, pairing their research with Marques’ own work.”
Like the cultural traditions they have stewarded so carefully, both Marques and Isídrez were once “undervalued” until a recent surge in interest in artists and art forms from the Global South. Beyond Independent 20th
Century, Isídrez recently held her first solo exhibition in the United States at Kasmin Gallery in New York, and she will be featured in the 14th Bienal do Mercosul in Porto Alegre, Brazil, next year. Marques is the subject of a forthcoming monograph and will be included in the next survey of Brazilian contemporary art at the Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo, opening in October.
“Seeing their work together is an incredible way to understand how these artists created so much with so little,” Gomide says. “I realized that these artists’ works should be just as valued as those of someone working in São Paulo or Rio de Janeiro or New York, and have made it my mission to change that.”
Julia Isidrez, Pelota siete cabezas Mboiyogua, 1998, ceramics, 10 x ø 8 1/2 in. Courtesy of the artist and Gomide&Co
Julia Isidrez, Cantaro con relieve, 1999, ceramics, 21 1/2 x 17 1/2 x 18 1/2 in.
Courtesy of the artist and Gomide&Co
Portrait of Julia Isidrez, Courtesy of Gomide&Co, São Paulo
Karel Appel: After Cobra
BY JOHN CHIAVERINA
a scene in jan vrijman’s 1962 documentary The Reality of Karel Appel gives an energetic glimpse into the practice of the Dutch painter who co-founded the legendary European avant-garde movement Cobra. Set to a soundtrack of jagged experimental music and jazz , Karel Appel attacks a large canvas with performative gusto, filling it with thick, gestural daubs of color. Though the clip affirms certain tropes of the swashbuckling modernist, Appel was far from a one-note painter.
“There’s a recent discovery that he often used drawings as a starting point for his painting,” says Franz W. Kaiser, the CEO of the Karel Appel Foundation, which “contradicts the idea that he was always doing spontaneous work.”
The artists of Cobra—their name an amalgam of their home cities, Copenhagen, Brussels, and Amsterdam—might have only been active from 1948 to 1951, but the footprint they collectively left on the European art world was significant. Pushing a radical painting agenda, partly influenced by children’s and outsider art, they blurred the lines between naive and studied, figurative and abstract. Although shortlived, Cobra would provide a conceptual and aesthetic roadmap for Appel, who left his native Amsterdam in 1950 to move to Paris.
For this year’s Independent 20th Century, Almine Rech will pick up the thread of the artist’s work over the two crucial decades that followed. The gallery’s solo presentation at the fair will feature paintings and works on paper made between 1958 and 1972, a period that was defined by Appel’s relationship with the influential New York gallerist Martha Jackson.
The artist showed with Jackson, an art dealer known for blazing trails for both women and international artists, for all but three of those years. The connection lasted until Jackson’s death in 1969 and was crucial for Appel’s development both artistically and professionally, Kaiser explains. “He said, ‘I leave the business to Martha Jackson.’ He was not the kind of an artist who figures out his own strategy. He left that to the professionals.”
Appel’s debut exhibition at the Martha Jackson Gallery came in 1954, but it was only in 1957 that he traveled to New York. While visiting his friends Willem de Kooning and Franz Kline in Long Island, he spent several days in Jackson Pollock’s former studio at the invitation of his widow, Lee Krasner. It was a fitting welcome for an artist whose work many consider as being in conversation with the Abstract Expressionists. “Pollock had died the year before but you can really see a very clear influence in his style,” Kaiser says,
describing this period as “the most abstract of Appel’s whole career.”
As the broader post-war art landscape evolved, so did Appel’s painterly approach. “You must remember that in the mid-1960s you had Pop art, you had conceptual art, painting was considered outdated,” Kaiser explains. In response, the artist’s output came to resemble a kind of “Cobra Pop,” a sleeker take on the typical themes he had developed as a young artist in Amsterdam and Paris.
The selection of pieces at Independent will offer an abbreviated survey of Appel’s varied body of work and his continuous movement between methodologies of painting. Flying Birds from 1959 is a pure burst of frenetic abstraction, while Happy Birthday to You, made in 1963, foregrounds a wide-eyed figure, both childlike and unsettling, upon a red background augmented with plastic toys. An untitled work on paper from 1958 plays with ethereal forms in soft shades of watercolor. A decade and a half later, the cartoonish composition of People in Landscape no.2 (1972), was rendered in bold, flat expanses of acrylic with elements of wood relief, another experimental direction.
“From the Cobra time on and throughout his whole career,” Appel was an artist who tracked “back and forth” between abstraction and figuration, Kaiser says, in a tireless search for renewal. “This was for him a way not to get stuck, not to repeat himself. That was what he was most afraid of.”
Karel Appel on the roof of 100 West 25th Street, New York, ca. 1963 Karel Appel Foundation Archives, Amsterdam
pablo picasso made nearly 2,500 print editions over his 70-year career, a dense thicket that can’t be easily navigated. That said, looking at Picasso’s many approaches to his works on paper is also continually gratifying. I hope my gallery’s exhibition at Independent 20th Century will be a helpful introduction, enlisting four women, four epochs, and four prints of utter beauty, power, and technical prowess. These are hors d’oeuvres for a lifelong Picasso feast.
I’ll start with something that might be recognizable. Visage de Marie-Thérèse is a lithograph from 1928. Picasso mostly did lithographs and etchings early in his career, gravitating toward their linear freedom. A year before he made it, Picasso met his subject, Marie-Thérèse Walter, on a street in Paris. He was married and she was almost 30 years younger. The relationship moved fast, from artist and model to lovers, on and off, for decades.
The portrait is a close-up so it’s intimate. Picasso was drawing on his lithographic stone with Greek sculpture in mind. Marie-Thérèse’s distinctive features and voluptuous form would appear in countless works over the next decade. Crafted of gauzy lines, she seems otherworldly here, coming to us from shadows, her face cropped as if we were looking through a keyhole.
La Femme à la Résille, another lithograph, is from 1947 and depicts Françoise Gilot, the artist’s new lover. Picasso’s use of color (the work is also titled Femme aux Cheveux verts) makes the subject alive and present. He is playful, even tender, showing Françoise in a blouse with stylized hieroglyphics, looking straight at us with big, inquiring, sweet eyes. The image is as direct as a billboard. Direct, but in a different way, is Weeping Woman I from 1937. An etching with drypoint and aquatint, it is based on Guernica, Picasso’s masterpiece depicting the devastation of a small town in the Basque Country by Nazi and Fascist Italian bombers in alliance with General Franco. It’s a view of agony and grief with jagged and slashing lines, black and white to reinforce the extreme emotion. The woman looks up, crying to God. Old Master takes on Mary’s anguish at the Crucifixion come to mind. No one invests line with emotion quite like Picasso, and nothing filled him with more emotion than Spain’s brutal civil war.
Picasso’s linocuts come from one of his many bursts of creativity, this one late in life. Most of them are from a narrow window in the late 1950s and early 60s. Buste de femme au chapeau from 1962 is a triumph showing Picasso at his jazziest. His use of color in his printmaking was never richer.
A linocut is like a woodcut. The shapes and lines cut from the surface, in this case a sheet of soft linoleum, are the negative rather than the positive image of the print. Here Picasso was trying a new twist on the technique. Rather than using a different piece of linoleum for each color, struggling along the way with aligning forms and lines, he worked with a single sheet, printing the largest form in color first, and then recutting it and printing again and again with each successive color. This took vision and a taste for risk.
Simple, blocky forms; stark lines, straight and curving; and the abolition of tone make up a visually striking image that still feels contemporary, while reaching for the look of medieval sculpture. At the age of 80, Picasso proved his imagination was both fertile and encyclopedic. He was never static. He worked in one style or focused on one motif or explored one technique until he felt he had exhausted it. Then, off to the next adventure.
John Szoke is the founder of the John Szoke Gallery in New York, which has specialized in works on paper by Pablo Picasso and Edvard Munch since 1980.
Pablo Picasso
Visage de Marie-Thérèse, 1928 (Probably October, Paris) Lithograph
3/8 x 13 1/8 inches
in pencil, lower right
Pablo Picasso La Femme qui pleure I, 1937 Aquatint, scraper, drypoint and etching 27 x 19 1/4 inches
Signed in pencil, lower right
Courtesy John Szoke Gallery
Pablo Picasso
Buste de Femme au Chapeau, 1962 Linocut
25 x 21 inches
Courtesy John Szoke Gallery
Pablo Picasso
La Femme à la Résille (Femme aux Cheveux verts), 1949
Lithograph
Image/sheet: 26 x 19 5/8 inches
Courtesy John Szoke Gallery
Kafka Is Still The Rage
THE ICONIC AUTHOR’S CONTINUED RELEVANCE
“Kafka’s novels are like a maze, and you can’t find your way out. But that’s okay. It’s okay to be lost. Because that’s where the story begins.”
— Haruki Murakami
one hundred years after Franz Kafka’s passing, his works continue to resonate with eerie relevance, casting a haunting glow on the complexities of modern life. Few could have predicted, including Kafka himself, that his themes and obsessions would have such a profound impact on culture, echoing through the decades to speak to the anxieties of 2024. As the Morgan Library & Museum notes on its upcoming exhibition, “Kafka’s writing is like a prism, refracting the anxieties of his era into a timeless spectrum of human concern.”
Kafka’s influence extends far beyond the literary world. His name has become a part of the language, symbolizing the absurd, the surreal, and the unsettling. We speak of “Kafkaesque” situations, where the individual is trapped in a labyrinthine world of bureaucracy and alienation. His name has also inspired numerous films, novels, and artworks, from Terry Gilliam’s “Brazil” to Haruki Murakami’s “Kafka on the Shore”. These works demonstrate the enduring power of Kafka’s themes and the continued relevance of his vision.
In art, Andy Warhol created a silkscreen print portrait of Kafka in the 1980s, based on a photograph of the author. This work exemplifies the intersection of high art and popular culture, as Warhol’s signature style transforms Kafka’s image into an iconic representation of modern angst. The use of Kafka’s likeness in Warhol’s
work underscores the author’s profound impact on modern culture, and is a scenario that Kafka would have surely found to be unimaginable in the throes of his alienation and feelings of disconnect.
In literature, Kafka’s influence can be seen in the works of authors like Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Albert Camus, and Jean-Paul Sartre, who explored similar themes of alienation, absurdity, and the search for meaning. His impact can also be felt in the realm of magical realism, a genre that blends the fantastical with the mundane, echoing Kafka’s own unique blend of the surreal and the everyday. Other artists like Salvador Dali, Rene Magritte, and Francis Bacon, explored similar themes of surrealism, absurdity, and the search for meaning. His impact can also be felt in the realm of installation art, where artists like Marcel Duchamp and Joseph Kosuth have explored similar themes of alienation and the search for meaning in a seemingly meaningless world.
In film, Kafka’s influence can be seen in the works of directors like Stanley Kubrick, David Lynch, and the Coen brothers, who have explored similar themes. Films like “The Trial”, “The Castle”, and “Metamorphosis” have been adapted from Kafka’s works, while others, like “12 Monkeys” and “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”, have been inspired by his fascinations.
In the digital age, people are perpetually connected yet profoundly alone, lost in a sea of information, and struggling to define themselves. This sense of disconnection is a hallmark of Kafka’s works, where characters often felt disconnected from society. Social media platforms, designed to bridge gaps, have become echo chambers amplifying isolation. As scholar and Kafka biographer, Max Brod, noted, “Kafka’s characters are not just individuals, but representatives of a modern humanity that has lost its way.”
The absurdity of life’s authoritative systems, constructs and bureaucratic misdirections are pervasive themes in Kafka’s works that can be felt today. The constant barrage of information leaves people questioning what is real and what is not. Kafka’s “The Trial” depicted a society where individuals were constantly monitored and judged, a theme that echoes in modern concerns about data privacy and government surveillance. Online activities are tracked, personal data exploited, and privacy eroded, creating a surveillance state where boundaries between public and private spaces are blurred.
Existential dread, a pervasive theme in Kafka’s writing, persists. People confront the unknown, grappling with the consequences of climate change, political unrest, and technological disruption. In the face of uncertainty, people seek meaning and purpose, a quest that continues today. As Harold Bloom stated, “Kafka’s work is a mirror held up to the abyss, and the abyss looks back.”
As Kafka’s legacy continues to inspire and haunt us, we’re reminded that his works are not just a reflection of his time, but a warning and a guide for our own.
Photograph of Kafka in c. 1906, around the time
he obtained his Doctor of Law degree from the Charles University in Prague.
Palazzo Borromeo, Isola Bella Phyrexian, via Wikimedia Commons
Insider’s Guide: Lago Maggiore
BESPOKE COUTURIER MARTA FERRI SHARES THE NATURAL AND HISTORIC BEAUTIES OF THE SPECIAL PLACE SHE CALLS HOME
Lago Maggiore, a lake of historical fascination, has captivated notable figures such as Napoleon and Josephine, as well as renowned writers throughout history. Its serene waters and picturesque landscapes have inspired poets and authors, making it a haven for creative minds. Hemingway set the final chapters of A Farewell to Arms here. Stendhal, who wrote The Charterhouse of Parma here, loved to repeat: “If you have a heart and a shirt, sell the shirt and go and see the shores of Lago Maggiore.”
Marta Ferri, the Milanese couturier and founder of her namesake Atelier Marta Ferri, is known for her unique style and exquisite use of fine furnishing fabrics, bringing a touch of elegance and personalized flair to everything she touches. With a background steeped in aesthetics, Marta offers her personal perspective on the region she calls home. Her deep appreciation for refined materials and attention to detail make her the perfect guide to uncover the hidden gems and sophisticated charm of Lago Maggiore.
Marta shares her local knowledge and insights into this enchanting Italian destination, a lesser-known but equally captivating alternative to the famous Lake Como. Lago Maggiore promises an authentic and unforgettable experience, blending history, elegance, and natural splendor.
for a long period, Lake Maggiore has been the less known alternative to the nearby, more famous, lake Como.
While the two places share some similarities, in particular when it comes to architecture as both places where originally developed during a golden era at the turn of the 19th century, I think that Lake Maggiore has so much to offer that it should attract more international interest.
Looking at the geography of the area Lake Maggiore is very large, and it almost feels like a small sea at times. The water is generally green, but in places it turns blue and clear. So much so that the place has constantly gained a ‘blue flag’ rating for its cleanliness. Besides the water, the area also includes the remote Val Grande, the largest wilderness area in all of Italy and one of the largest unpopulated natural areas in Europe. I’ve been on incredible hikes, with creeks and wild animals such as I’ve never experienced anywhere else in Italy.
The people of the area are friendly and warm, the towns have been used to hosting countless visitors for many
centuries and it really shows in the local’s approach to tourism. Culturally I would say that the biggest draw is the legacy of properties developed by my husband’s family ever since the 13th century. The Borromean Islands are the main attraction but also the San Carlo statue is worth mentioning, as it was the original inspiration for the Statue of Liberty that the French crafted for NYC. There are also many famous gardens besides the Borromean ones that are worth a visit for all those interested in the theme.
Recently the family has been working to open the last and most remote of the islands to the public. The Castles of Cannero have been abandoned since the 16th century and represent the ruins of one of the most interesting castles in Italy, its walls surging directly from the water. Next spring they’ll finally be open to be explored again, following 500 years of ruin and a painstakingly delicate conservation project. The place is eerie and fascinating in its austere elegance.
Santa Caterina is an interesting place with crazy lore. The legend says that a rich merchant sunk on his ship as he was traversing the lake. He prayed to be saved and sure enough a wave picked him up and dropped him on some rocky cliffs. The man decided then to become a hermit, living the rest of his days on the same rock and donating all his wealth to build a monastery on top of it. You can see the place where he lived when you descend the 300 or so steps that lead to the monastery. I would definitely recommend a visit.
Marta Ferri
Photographed by Matteo Carassale photography
Casa Cipriani sailing
View of the Hermitage of Santa Caterina del Sasso, Leggiuno, Lake Maggiore, Lombardy. Italy, 13th-17th century.
Palais Borromée sur l’Isola Bella, 2012, archipel des Iles Borromées sur le lac Majeur, Italie.
(Photo by Jean-Erick PASQUIER/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
The Art of Setting
THE UNFORGETTABLE RUNWAY SHOWS OF JACQUEMUS
simon porte jacquemus, the creative force behind the brand Jacquemus, has become renowned for his ability to merge fashion with art and natural beauty. The settings for his runway shows are not just backdrops; they are integral components of his collections, enhancing the narrative and emotional impact of his designs. In doing so, these meticulously chosen locations have become synonymous with the brand itself, reflecting Jacquemus’ artistic vision and personal philosophy.
Jacquemus’ approach to runway shows transcends traditional fashion presentations. The brand has a unique talent for selecting settings that complement its collections, creating an immersive experience that blurs the lines between fashion, art, and nature. For instance, the Spring/Summer 2020 show took place in a blooming lavender field in Provence. This setting was not chosen merely for its aesthetic appeal but to amplify the collection’s themes of simplicity, beauty, and a deep connection to nature. The endless rows of vibrant purple flowers mirrored the collection’s palette and the flowing, effortless silhouettes of his designs.
In an interview, Jacquemus explained, “For me, the setting is as important as the clothes. It tells a story, creates a mood, and makes the entire experience unforgettable. It’s about creating a world where everything feels connected.” This philosophy underscores the symbiotic relationship between his fashion and the settings he chooses, where each element enhances the other, resulting in a cohesive and impactful presentation.
“Le Chouchou” Jacquemus’ Fashion Show : Runway At Chateau De Versailles VERSAILLES, FRANCE - JUNE 26: Models walk the runway during “Le Chouchou” Jacquemus’ Fashion Show at Chateau de Versailles on June 26, 2023 in Versailles, France. (Photo by Pierre Suu/WireImage)
VALENSOLE, FRANCE - JUNE 24: Atmosphere at the Jacquemus Menswear Spring Summer 2020 show on June 24, 2019 in Valensole, France. (Photo by Arnold Jerocki/WireImage)
Jacquemus’ choice of locations often reflects his personal history and the cultural heritage of Southern France. His Spring/Summer 2019 show, held in the rolling fields of Valensole, Provence, is a prime example. This show, known as “Le Coup de Soleil,” featured models walking through sunlit wheat fields, evoking memories of Jacquemus’ childhood and the idyllic landscapes of his homeland. The simplicity and rustic charm of the setting highlighted the collection’s themes of nostalgia, romance, and the beauty of everyday life.
Similarly, the Fall/Winter 2019 show took place on a pink salt flat in Camargue. This surreal, almost otherworldly location perfectly complemented the collection’s bold colors and dramatic silhouettes. The stark contrast between the bright clothing and the pale, expansive salt flats created a visually striking and memorable scene that resonated deeply with the audience.
Jacquemus has often spoken about his desire to create more than just a fashion show. He aims to create an
experience that lingers in the memory, akin to a piece of art. “I want my shows to be like a movie, something you remember not just for the clothes but for the whole experience,” he stated in an interview. This cinematic approach is evident in the way he meticulously plans each aspect of his shows, from the location to the choreography, ensuring that every detail contributes to the overall narrative.
The consistent use of natural, idyllic settings has become a hallmark of the Jacquemus brand. These locations are not just beautiful backdrops; they are integral to the brand’s identity, embodying the essence of Southern French culture and the designer’s personal aesthetic. By choosing settings that are deeply connected to his roots and the themes of his collections, Jacquemus creates a sense of authenticity and emotional resonance that sets his brand apart.
These memorable shows that seamlessly blend fashion and art have garnered widespread acclaim and solidified the brand’s reputation as a trailblazer.
“Le Papier” Jacquemus’ Fashion Show : Runway In Arles ARLES, FRANCE - JUNE 27: A model walks the runway during the “Le Papier (The Paper)” Jacquemus’ Fashion Show on June 27, 2022 in Arles, France. (Photo by Arnold Jerocki/WireImage)
Man Ray, La mode au Congo, 19371980. Courtesy of Gio’ Marconi
Arte A Casa
25 MILANESE GALLERIES FIND THEIR HOME
IN A HISTORICAL PALAZZO
milan, a city renowned for its fashion and design, is steadily becoming a focal point for the arts. This transformation has been largely fostered by private institutions, including an important activation by Casa Cipriani Milano, an exclusive members club that seamlessly merges hospitality with a rich cultural tapestry. Located in the historic Palazzo Bernasconi on Via Palestro, Casa Cipriani Milano has embarked on an initiative known as Arte a Casa. This project not only enhances the club’s cultural ethos but also contributes significantly to Milan’s burgeoning art scene.
Arte a Casa is a testament to the enduring connection between history and modernity, drawing inspiration from the legacy of Harry’s Bar, a historical haven for artists like Eugenio Montale, Ernest Hemingway, and Andy Warhol. Through this initiative, Casa Cipriani aims to create a vibrant hub for the artistic community, providing a platform for exhibitions and cultural exchanges. The project underscores the importance of integrating art into the fabric of everyday life, thereby enriching both the cultural and economic landscapes of Milan.
The inaugural edition of Arte a Casa, features a curated selection of artworks by 29 contemporary and historical artists, represented by 25 esteemed Milanese galleries. This initiative serves as a catalyst for engaging dialogue, encompassing diverse artistic expressions and cultural perspectives. By fostering these conversations, Casa Cipriani Milano emphasizes the role of art
as an active participant in the community, rather than a passive adornment.
Art’s integration into the club’s space is not merely decorative but purposeful. Each artwork complements the environment, creating organic and engaging experiences for visitors. For instance, the Grand Hall features a piece by William Kentridge, whose work often addresses themes of history, politics, memory, and identity. This piece sets the tone for a dialogue that continues throughout the club, encouraging visitors to reflect and engage with the art on a deeper level.
The importance of art in a communal space cannot be overstated. Art serves as a bridge between diverse worlds, fostering connections and conversations that might not occur otherwise. At Casa Cipriani Milano, art and hospitality are intertwined in a way that enhances the overall experience for members and guests. The club’s spaces, from the entrance hall to the lounge areas, are thoughtfully curated to ensure that the art not only complements but also elevates the ambiance.
Casa Cipriani Milano’s approach to integrating art into its spaces highlights the evolving relationship between hospitality and the arts. This relationship is characterized by a mutual enhancement, where the presence of art enriches the experience of hospitality, and the setting provides a unique context for appreciating art. This symbiosis creates a dynamic environment where art is not confined to galleries but becomes part of the lived experience.
Moreover, Arte a Casa extends beyond mere exhibitions. It includes a series of art dialogues, events, and talks, involving artists, gallerists, collectors, journalists, and curators. These interactions are designed to foster a dynamic cultural dialogue, reinforcing the idea that art should be an active participant in the community. By engaging a wide spectrum of participants from both local and international art scenes, Casa Cipriani Milano creates a platform for meaningful exchanges and collaborations.
The significance of projects like Arte a Casa lies in their ability to transform spaces into vibrant cultural hubs. Casa Cipriani Milano, through its thoughtful integration of art and hospitality, demonstrates how these two worlds can converge to create enriching and dynamic experiences. This initiative not only enhances the cultural offerings of Milan but also sets a precedent for other institutions looking to integrate art into their environments.
In conclusion, Milan’s evolution as an art-focused city is beautifully illustrated by the efforts of Casa Cipriani Milano and its Arte a Casa initiative. By creating a space where art and hospitality seamlessly intersect, Casa Cipriani Milano highlights the importance of art as an active part of the community. This approach not only enriches the experience for members and guests but also contributes to the broader cultural and economic landscape of Milan. As art becomes increasingly integrated into everyday life, initiatives like Arte a Casa underscore the value of creating spaces where art can thrive, engage, and inspire.
Claudio Parmiggiani, Senza titolo, 2023. Courtesy of Tornabuoni Art
Christian Gonzenbach, Mr.Idrev, 2016. Courtesy of Ribot Gallery
Lulu’ Nuti, Calco del mondo in sei parti (moon world), 2022.
Courtesy of Galleria Renata Fabbri
Michael Ho: Conjuring Acts
BY DANIELLE WU
michael ho’s series of paintings A Semblance of Truth, presented at Independent in May 2024 by Gallery Vacancy, Shanghai, is like a window into an inverted world or a film negative: recognizable but also recognizably amiss. Each work in the series is rendered with blurred, snowy contours, achieved through
a technique the artist developed with his late collaborator Chiyan Ho that they called reverse painting. This is one of the first solo projects Ho has accomplished after vowing to continue their collaborative practice, perhaps not by coincidence suffused in haunted memory and grief.
The process of reverse painting evolved from an initial mistake, when the artists discovered that painting on unprimed canvas would yield a less pigmented image on the back. Seen at close hand, the surfaces of Ho’s canvases are riddled with bumps in places where he has applied pressure to push the paint through, working from the back to the front. The resulting images achieve a diluted color palette more reminiscent of Eastern ink painting than the Western oil and acrylic being used.
Ho gives a critical edge to this classic theme of East meets West, often interpreted as simple cultural exchange in art history. As the cultural theorist Stuart Hall wrote, hybridity resulting from Western conquest “insists on marking the disjunctures of power and position that have to be contested.” In A Semblance of Truth, Ho’s provocative central subject is William Ellsworth Robinson, a white American magician who disturbingly adopted a Chinese persona named Chung Ling Soo in the early 1900s. Yet what appears to be a closed case of yellowface is opened by the artist with effective mystique.
Michael Ho, Total Eclipse (detail), 2024, oil and acrylic on canvas, 180 × 220 cm, Courtesy of the Artist and Gallery Vacancy, Shanghai.
in a vertical painting Migration Towards West, Ho depicts a queue, a long braid that Chinese men wore during the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), snaking through grass. Its length is exaggerated and almost threateningly animalistic, as if shaped by racial animus towards exotic “Oriental” style. Lying in the same thicket are the broken shards of a plate that allude to how Robinson met his demise. While performing a notorious magic trick in which he was supposed to catch a bullet in a porcelain dish, the gun fired a real bullet into his lung.
The fact that his racist act ultimately killed him probably allows us to look past the insult of Robinson’s misdeeds into its absurdities. The magician shattered his own illusion by crying out in perfect English after being shot, not Chinese or broken English, as he usually pretended to speak on stage. Language unmasked Robinson as not the “marvelous Chinese conjurer” that he claimed to be on posters, but a white man born in Westchester County, New York.
ho’s work confirms the thesis made by the artist Amalia Ulman, that the performance of authenticity becomes apparent when it is inconsistent. And also like Ulman, Ho doesn’t so much as hope to advocate for more truthful representation but instead exposes the technologies by which a semblance of truth is constructed. In early 1900s America, there was no Photoshop, FaceTune, or AI, but wigs, costume, stage makeup, and sleight of hand. Ho reserves the greatest realism for the accessories to Robinson’s crime, which he paints in a layer added on top of the gauzy reverse-painted foliage that fills the background of Migration Towards West. The porcelain is crisp with detail, down to its blue-and-white lotus pattern.
Michael Ho, Migration Towards West, 2024, oil and acrylic on canvas, 220 × 125 cm, Courtesy of the Artist and Gallery Vacancy, Shanghai.
Michael Ho, Migration Towards West (detail), 2024, oil and acrylicon canvas, 220 × 125 cm, Courtesy of the Artist and GalleryVacancy, Shanghai.
at independent, this painting was displayed adjacent to Total Eclipse, depicting the magician with his face obscured by a plume of smoke, a recurring element in many of Robinson’s original posters. When asked what he used as his model, Ho replied, “myself.” It struck me that rather than making a one-directional critique of yellowface, he had implicated himself in the act. This begs the question, why would yellowface offer an opportunity for partial self-portraiture?
An answer might be found in the artist’s own troubles with fixing an identity. Born to Chinese parents in the Netherlands and then raised in Germany, Ho recalls never feeling at home. “I always found myself in between cultures,” he says. “So in Germany, of course, I never felt truly German. But then also because I grew up in Germany, when I’m in China, I don’t feel Chinese.” Even the setting of the paintings reflects such feelings. “I wanted to set the paintings in twilight as quite literally an in-between time.”
Michael Ho, Total Eclipse, 2024, oil and acrylic on canvas, 180 × 220 cm, Courtesy of the Artist and Gallery Vacancy, Shanghai.
ho’s cosmopolitan upbringing has given him a quiet ambivalence towards notions of authenticity. He hesitates to reify myths about identity that deserve more flexibility. An example can be taken of Stream of Prophecies, a small painting of ornate Chinese fingernail guards submerged in violet liquid. Ho explains they refer to ornaments worn by Fu Manchu, a highly racialized villain character created by an English author at the height of the Yellow Peril. Even this superficial detail was “misused,” because it was usually upper-class women who wore nail guards in imperial China, but Ho sees in it “a nod to [Fu Manchu’s] queerness.”
Recently, Ho has found inspiration in the essay “Taking Up Residence in Homelessness” by the philosopher Vilém Flusser, whose criticality of the violence
that often erupts from desiring home—patriotism and Zionism, for instance—caused him to relinquish longing for a homeland at all. This theory spoke to Ho’s feeling of statelessness. “I don’t mind not being attached to a specific nation, but then I think maybe it is also good to rethink these ideas of [nationalism].”
Neither fully Dutch, as his documents identify him, nor German despite his fluency in German, nor British as a resident in London, nor solely Chinese, Ho takes a personal interest in what it means to assimilate or “pass” as someone else, in hiding parts of yourself for survival’s sake and in trying on new identities for size. This personal journey led to a curiosity about a white showman who found a home in Asian flesh, an illusion that consumed his life and for which he died.
Michael Ho, Stream of Prophecies, 2024, oil and acrylic on canvas, 20 × 30 cm, Courtesy of the Artist and Gallery Vacancy, Shanghai.
whereas migration towards west addresses the aftermath of Robinson’s failed bullet catch trick, a multi-panel painting titled Where Wounded Dreams Are Made to Blossom examines its antecedent. Ho saw compositional similarities between one of the magician’s promotional posters and Édouard Manet’s damaged painting, The Execution of Maximilian (1867-69). Each depicts a firing squad preparing to take aim against their man. By collapsing these disparate historical incidents together, Ho raises new questions about their interpretation and meanings. Could the deaths of Maximilian, a European emperor installed in Mexico, and of Chung Ling Soo both symbolize Indigenous victory against foreign conquest?
Gazing into the murky water at the center of Ho’s painting, which ripples with putrid greens and luminous purples, you won’t find closure to these questions. In this liminal dimension, what is dead threatens to come back to life. Ho often situates his scenes at dusk or under moonlight because it evacuates color, he says, transforming human skin into a corpse-like pallor, so what is living could be mistaken for dead. While Robinson’s racial masquerade ended with his accidental death, his biggest trick exposed for all to see, the objects that allowed him to posture threaten to be assembled again.
Archives of Arlan
at Pearl River Mart, New York (2023); Water Works at International
& Curatorial Program, New York (2022); and Ghost in the Ghost at Tiger Strikes Asteroid, New York (2019).
Michael Ho, Where Wounded Dreams Are Made to Blossom, 2024, Oil and acrylic on canvas, A set of 4 works, overall: 220 × 565 cm (86 5/8 × 222 1/2in), Courtesy of the Artist and Gallery Vacancy, Shanghai.
