Portraits by Aurelio Amendola of Burri, Vedova and Nitsch on display in Città di Castello


Città di Castello, in the Ex Seccatoi del Tabacco, presents an exhibition of portraits of Alberto Burri, Emilio Vedova and Hermann Nitsch taken by the great photographer Aurelio Amendola during the execution of their works.

From March 12 to June 30, 2023, the Ex Seccatoi del Tabacco, in the temporary exhibition area, in Città di Castello welcomes the exhibition Aurelio Amendola: Burri / Vedova / Nitsch. Actions and Gestures, curated by Bruno Corà, president of the Fondazione Palazzo Albizzini Collezione Burri. The exhibition, on the occasion of the anniversary of Alberto Burri ’s birth, intends to highlight his works, cultural contexts and relationships over the years.

“Dedicating an exhibition to Aurelio Amendola’s photographic work related to the portraits of Alberto Burri, Emilio Vedova and Hermann Nitsch, made during the execution of their works, has a twofold objective: That of highlighting the different modes of operation of the three artists, who are emblematic for the processuality of their actions and modes of expression, and at the same time to provide the wider public with a specific field of investigation of theactivity of a great Italian photographer who managed to establish a lasting association and friendship with those masters, apt moreover to capture their most significant artistic and human attitudes,” Corà said.



On display are forty-four large photographic prints and unique works by the artists in the exhibition: Alberto Burri’s Plastica M1 (1962) and Nero Cellotex (1978), Emilio Vedova ’s Non Dove/Breccia 1988 III (1988) and Hermann Nitsch’s 18b.malaktion (1986). In addition, films dedicated to them are shown in the documentation section. Thanks to the Pistoiese photographer, walking through the exhibition rooms dedicated to the show in the spaces of the Ex Seccatoi del Tabacco, one discovers much about the three protagonists of this exhibition.

Amendola has devoted much of his work to immortalizing artists in action, saying he has long since matured the idea of an exhibition on the actions and gestures that led to the creation of works such as those of the three great protagonists of the exhibition, portrayed in different times and places.

The relationship between Burri and photographer Aurelio Amendola was one of the most assiduous and well-established, a fellowship documented by Amendola’s photographic works that Burri considered adequate to express the meaning of his work, and among them are specific sequences devoted to the performative acts of the artist in his studio, in the completion of his works. “In Vedova, Amendola’s images describe an emotional intensity that becomes painting of thought, of erratic and mnemonically evocative questioning and action, shipwreck and overcoming, clash and embrace with color, with light, with instability and impermanence,” added the president of the Burri Foundation. “Rather, in Nitsch, an exponent of a restless and unfulfilled Central European, a former protagonist of Viennese Actionism, the photographer has emphasized the artist’s theatrical space, documenting his tragic poetics and the signs of a painting and operational dramaturgy leaning toward the ritual and liturgy of a new possible experience of the Dionysian in our time.”

“The exhibition experience that the Burri Foundation is about to undertake in collaboration with the Vedova Foundation in Venice and with the operational contribution of the Nitsch Museum in Naples, is the first of its kind,” Corà said, “and encourages us to continue on a terrain that the artists themselves in their lifetime had already traced out on their behalf, in the frequentation that took place over the years, in Rome, Venice and other places following their initiatives and travels.”

“The exhibition of absolute artistic level once again turns the spotlight on the great master symbol of contemporary art worldwide,” said Typhur mayor Luca Secondi. “Our beautiful Renaissance city, thanks to Alberto Burri and his works immortalized in motion by Aurelio Amendola master photographer who more than any other has known him closely deliver to history memorable shots. Another significant step in the enhancement of the immense artistic heritage, which the master wanted all constuded in the city, and that thanks to these prestigious exhibitions of the Fondazione Palazzo Albizzini finds further opportunity for promotion at the international level.”

The exhibition, produced by the Fondazione Palazzo Albizzini Collezione Burri in collaboration with the Fondazione Vedova of Venice and the Fondazione Morra of Naples, has been curated by architect Tiziano Sarteanesi, with the cooperation of the entire staff of the Fondazione Burri. It will be on view until June 30, 2023, then in the fall it will be mounted again in Venice at the Fondazione Vedova.

Portraits by Aurelio Amendola of Burri, Vedova and Nitsch on display in Città di Castello
Portraits by Aurelio Amendola of Burri, Vedova and Nitsch on display in Città di Castello


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