In Conversano, the first major exhibition dedicated to Antonio Ligabue in Puglia


The Aragonese Castle in Conversano will host the first major exhibition in Apulia dedicated to Antonio Ligabue from March 25 to October 8, 2023. More than sixty works by the painter will be on display.

From March 25 to October 8, 2023, the Aragonese Castle of Conversano will host the Antonio Ligabue exhibition, curated by Francesca Villanti, promoted and supported by the Municipality of Conversano City of Art and Museco - Museums in Conversano, with the contribution of the Region of Puglia, under the patronage of the Metropolitan City of Bari, Pugliapromozione and Teatro Pubblico Pugliese, in collaboration with the Municipality of Gualtieri and Antonio Ligabue Museum Foundation, and produced and organized by Arthemisia. This is the first major exhibition dedicated to the painter in Puglia, and more than sixty of his works will be on display for the occasion.

Among the most beloved painters of the 20th century, Antonio Ligabue is considered the naïf painter par excellence, the visionary, self-taught and unfortunate artist who managed to enter the soul of the general public. He was able to speak with immediacy and genuineness to everyone, to those who have the tools to understand his art-historical value, as well as to those who simply enjoy the absolute beauty of his works. An extraordinary human and artistic story that over the years has fascinated thousands of people, so much so that it has become the protagonist of films and television scripts since the 1970s. Salvatore Nocita ’s 1977 RAI screenplay starring Flavio Bucci is memorable, as is Giorgio Diritti ’s recent 2020 film Volevo nascondermi (I wanted to hide ) with Elio Germano’s masterful performance.

Through the works on display, the exhibition aims to offer a narrative of Ligabue’s life and work. The public will be able to delve into the artist’s thematic nuclei, a few always repeated subjects from which his extraordinary sensitivity and the sweetness of his fragile soul strongly emerge. Suffering and talent that find in creativity the means to fill the void of abandonment and overcome the discomfort of marginalization and mental illness.

The exhibition has BCC Conversano and Master Italy as sponsors.

The catalog is published by Skira.

Hours: Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 to 7 p.m. Closed Mondays.

Tickets: Full 14 euros, reduced 12 euros.

In Conversano, the first major exhibition dedicated to Antonio Ligabue in Puglia
In Conversano, the first major exhibition dedicated to Antonio Ligabue in Puglia


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