ART A spectacular Roman museum dedicated to 21st century art

A MUSEUM OF GREAT NOVELTIES

In Rome, the MAXXI Museo Nazionale delle arti del XXI secolo celebrates 10 years as the first museum dedicated to contemporary creativity

BY: LUIZ CLAUDIO RODRIGUES | PHOTOS: COURTESY OF MAXXI MUSEUM

Inaugurated in May 2010, MAXXI (National Museum of the 21st Century)—with architecture by Zaha Hadid, in an area of 29,000 sqm in the Flaminio district in Rome—in only 10 years has become one of the main cultural centers of the Italian capital. The museum, with its intriguing mix of galleries, forms a large urban field with linear display surfaces, showcasing innovative and spectacular forms. Glass, steel and concrete give the exhibition spaces neutrality, while mobile panels provide flexibility to the facilities, offering visitors different and unexpected routes.

Its ever increasing collection includes 515 works of art (signed by Anish Kappor, Mario and Marisa Merz, William Kentridge, Alfredo Jaar, Mark Bradford and Francesco Vezzoli, among others), in addition to the 210,000 Architecture and Architectural Photographic works and documents. On the ground floor, there is a permanent video gallery and a square with largescale installations, creating a link between the interior and the surrounding environments. In addition to its collections, MAXXI features exhibits of design, photography and fashion, and cinema, music, theater and dance exhibitions.

To celebrate its anniversary, the 2020 program has 19 exhibits, events and a new photo exhibition of its permanent collection, composed of works by great masters of the turn of the millennium. Its curatorship is based on a reflection about the 1

complex and uncertain times we live in today and further explores some areas of research developed throughout the 2010s. As of April, the following exhibits were held: ‘Claudia Gian Ferrari’, Italian collector and gallery owner; ‘Alberto Boatto’, dedicated to the art critic’s collection; ‘Giovanni Gastel’, with 200 portraits of his multifaceted photographic work; ‘A Story for the Future’, a display dedicated to the museum’s tenth anniversary, reflecting its identity and setting a direction for the future; ‘Lina Bo Bardi - A Marvellous Entanglement’, a video exhibit accompanied by a photographic series. The exhibition dedicated to the Italian-Brazilian architect is a tribute to the English artist and filmmaker Isaac Julien; and ‘Navin Rawanchaikul’ with the Ciao Roma oil on canvas, where the artist reinterprets the poster style of the Indian film industry by capturing the South Asian migrant community in their daily life in Rome. And many others that will open in the second half of the year.

01. Canvas by Italian artist Giorgio Andreotta Calò. 02. Façade of the MAXXI Museum, designed by architect Zaha Hadid. 03. Scene of video installation in the Lina Bo Bardi exhibition 04. Inside view of the MAXXI Museum that offers visitors unexpected routes. maxxi.art