From April 11 to September 13, 2026, the CAMeC - Modern and Contemporary Art Center of La Spezia presents the exhibition Rethinking Romanticism in Contemporary Art, curated by Elena Volpato. The exhibition offers an investigation into the visual and conceptual legacy of Caspar David Friedrich, John Constable and J.M.W. Turner through a comparison with the works of seven artists from the contemporary international scene: Giovanni Anselmo, Massimo Bartolini, Ian Kiaer, David Schutter, Linda Fregni Nagler, Pesce Khete and Michele Tocca.
The exhibition project takes the form of an analysis of the persistence and transformations of certain thematic nuclei of Romanticism in current artistic production. At the center of the path emerges the continuity of the relationship between the individual, nature and the idea of infinity, observed through different formal and conceptual declinations.
The exhibition is articulated along three interpretative directions that refer to the “souls” of Romanticism identified in the three reference masters. Starting with Caspar David Friedrich, the hermetic and metaphysical dimension of landscape is investigated. In this perspective, the works of Giovanni Anselmo, Linda Fregni Nagler, Ian Kiaer and Massimo Bartolini address the theme of theindividual’s bewilderment inthe face of the vastness of the cosmos. The research is expressed through different languages, including sculptural structures, photographic devices and installation interventions characterized by formal fragility and symbolic tension. The set of works constructs a reflection on the relationship between perception, limit and the unknown.
Instead, the reference to John Constable introduces a reading centered on naturalism and direct observation of the landscape. In this section, Michele Tocca develops a painting practice oriented toward the immediate representation of nature through en plein air painting and the mnemonic study of gesture. The concept of firstimeness, understood as an original and unmediated gaze, becomes a central element of the research. In parallel, David Schutter takes up Constable’s lesson to also interrogate the historical and political implications of the image, focusing on works such as The Grove, 1822, preserved at the Tate in London, and analyzing its structure in relation to colonial culture.
The third axis of the exhibition is devoted to J.M.W. Turner and his conception of landscape as a mental and no longer exclusively physical space. In this sphere, Pesce Khete’s works translate Turner’s lesson into an inner dimension, in which color and sign become tools of emotional and perceptual construction. Landscape is thus configured as a field of psychic experience, rather than a naturalistic representation.
“I believe,” says Elena Volpato, curator of the exhibition, “that from the poetic season of Romanticism comes an inalienable invitation to us to recover a full awareness of our way of being in the world, to take the time to go below the surface of things, to return to speak in art about expressive intensity and the cognitive tension that comes from our emotions. The seven artists selected for the exhibition have the courage to do this.”
“This exhibition represents a new and significant step for CAMeC, which confirms its central role in the production and dissemination of contemporary art,” says La Spezia Mayor Pierluigi Peracchini. The project Rethinking Romanticism in Contemporary Art testifies to the desire to build an increasingly open dialogue between different eras, languages and sensibilities, offering the public high-profile cultural experiences. In this path, the exhibition also offers a current reflection on the bond between man and nature, reinterpreted through the visions of contemporary artists, who through the reinterpretation of the Romantic tradition offer a new look in light of the challenges of the present. The renewed impetus of the museum, made possible thanks to the partnership with Fondazione Carispezia, is enabling CAMeC to continuously propose exhibitions of great quality, capable of attracting artists and visitors from national and international contexts. As a municipal administration, we strongly believe in the value of culture as an engine of growth and cohesion, and for this reason we invite the entire community to participate and get involved in an exhibition itinerary that combines beauty, reflection and contemporaneity, helping to strengthen the cultural identity of our city."
“For Fondazione Carispezia,” says Fondazione Carispezia President Andrea Corradino, “supporting CAMeC means contributing to the growth of a space open to the community, dedicated to research and the dissemination of culture, recognizing in it a fundamental element of civil development and social cohesion. Carried out in synergy with the City of La Spezia, this commitment strengthens the Museum’s role as an attractive pole not only nationally but also internationally, through high quality proposals. This new exhibition addresses a theme that spans art history and dialogues with the present, inviting reflection on the relationship between man and nature, the dimension of the infinite and the ability of the gaze to go beyond the visible - elements that find a particularly significant natural and cultural context in our territory.”
“After the exhibition on Morandi and Fontana and the one on the Sozzani Collection,” says CAMeC Management Committee Chairman Giacomo Bei, a lawyer, “this part of CAMeC’s journey is led by Elena Volpato and the seven artists she has chosen to push us to think about a new romanticism, including with works created specifically for the exhibition.So this is not just a story about the passages of time or the ability of thought to go beyond history, but an exhibition that is itself a tool for rethinking, all together, one of the few ”isms“ that should not cause fear but rather generate hope: romanticism. Elena Volpato, in addition to her role as curator of this extraordinary exhibition, is now even closer to CAMeC as a member of the museum’s scientific committee, which will guide its artistic and scientific choices, together with President Gerhard Wolf and the other members who have so generously taken up the challenge: Arturo Galansino, Francesco Guzzetti, Giuseppe Iannacone, Giulia Lecchini, and Mirjam Varadinis.”
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| La Spezia, seven contemporary artists reinterpret Romanticism at CAMeC |
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