Fundación MAPFRE, Madrid
September 2021
September 24, 2021–January 9, 2022 Morandi: Infinite Resonance is a retrospective exhibition of work by Giorgio Morandi, one of the most significant and unclassifiable artists in the history of twentieth-century art. The Italian painter barely traveled outside Italy and spent almost his entire life in his home and studio in Via Fondazza, Bologna. Here, he engaged in creating work in which everyday objects, flowers, and landscapes became the protagonists, with the intention of producing, as noted by Ardengo Soffici, “a harmonious composition of colors, shapes and volumes that exclusively obeyed the rules of unity, like the beauty of consensus.” The exhibition provides a comprehensive overview of Morandi’s output in seven sections that address all the themes the artist loved, primarily still lifes, landscapes, and vases of flowers. The earlier part of the exhibition features the paintings Self-Portrait (1925) and Bathers (1915), two of the few examples of human representation in his work. In addition, the exhibition includes a selection of works by contemporary artists, among them Tony Cragg, Tacita Dean, Joel Meyerowitz, and Rachel Whiteread, who establish a dialogue with the language of the Italian artist in different media (mainly photography, painting, sculpture, and ceramics).
Exhibition Catalogue: Morandi: Infinite Resonance is accompanied by a two-volume catalogue. The first volume focuses on the work of Giorgio Morandi and the second is devoted to the echoes of his art in contemporary creation. Both reproduce all the works on display. Volume I, in Spanish and Catalan, includes an essay by Daniela Ferrari and a biography of Giorgio Morandi by Beatrice Avanzi, both curators at the Museo di Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto (MART) and the curators of the exhibition. It also features a text by the writer and philosopher Andrea Pinotti, professor of aesthetics at the Università degli Studi in Milan, and a bibliography by Lorenza Selleri, curator of the Museo Morandi in Bologna. Volume II, in Spanish, includes the work of the contemporary artists included in the exhibition and an essay by Alessia Masi, curator of the Museo Morandi in Bologna and academic advisor for the selection of works by these artists.