Winter sports in art: an exhibition in Bolzano between the 20th century and Futurism

Starting Feb. 18, the exhibition Winterspiele der Kunst - Winter Sports in Art opens to the public in the rooms of Bolzano’s Mercantile Palace, where it will remain open until March 25. The exhibition proposes a reflection on the theme of winter sports and the mountain landscape through paintings, sculptures and graphic works created by some of the protagonists oftwentieth-century art, offering an interpretation that departs from the purely competitive dimension to focus on the human, symbolic and aesthetic aspects of these practices.

The initiative comes in a particularly important context, one that accompanies the approach to the Winter Olympic Games in Milan Cortina 2026, and involves a territory, such as Trentino-Alto Adige, historically linked to the mountains and snow sports. The exhibition is an initiative of Museumverein Bozen, the Museum Society of Bolzano, based on an idea by Stefano Consolati and Carl Kraus of Bozner Kunstauktionen. The project was supported by Trentino-South Tyrol Regional Councillor and Vice President of the Council of the Autonomous Province of Bolzano, Angelo Gennaccaro.

“We strongly believed in this event, which winks at the 2026 Olympics but is seen from the side of artists dear to our region,” Angelo Gennaccaro explains. “The exhibition represents the meeting of two worlds, seemingly distant, that share much more than meets the eye: sports and art. In a region like ours, known worldwide also for its beautiful mountains, sportsmen and art lovers will meet, called to look at winter sports as a form, broader, of universal expression: where the body becomes language and movement is transformed into form.”

“Special thanks,” emphasizes Bozner Kunstauktionen director Stefano Consolati, “go to the private collectors who allowed us in a short time to set up the exhibition, and in particular to Michael Seeber and Leitner of Sterzing, who granted most of the works on display.”

“These are works,” explains Bozen Museum Society President Walter Landi, “from both the Bozen Museum Society and private collections, which fit perfectly into the exhibition itinerary and open up to a new form of experimentation: one that fuses together art with the free spirit, but also with our own, significant, regional identity.”

The centerpiece of the exhibition is the figure of Paul Flora, a South Tyrolean artist of international prominence, best known as a cartoonist and caricaturist. The works on display focus on winter sports, with protagonists such as skiers, jumpers, skaters and athletes on toboggans. Flora, who chose Innsbruck as a place to live and work, traversed very different themes in his production, from the famous Hungerburg crows to Venetian nocturnes. His style, marked by subtle humor and measured irony, gave rise to a recognizable visual universe, which also finds expression in the images dedicated to the Winter Olympics, interpreted in a satirical vein and far removed from contemporary spectacularization.

Alongside Flora’s graphics and drawings, the exhibition features paintings by artists associated with the Tyrolean area such as AlfonsWalde and Max von Esterle, as well as graphic works by international masters such as Lyonel Feininger and Victor Vasarely. A relevant section is devoted to Walde, a painter who was instrumental in building the visual imagery of locations such as Kitzbühel through his depictions of snow-covered lodges and skiers. The works on display also include Skiers near a chalet from 1933, an example of his focus on the colors of winter and the mountains, a central subject of his research since his early days. The exhibition concludes with a selection of Italian Futurist works devoted to snow sports, including works by Fortunato Depero and Ivanhoe Gambini. On display is the latter’s 1930s painting Skier at the Jump, which testifies to the avant-garde’s interest in movement, speed and the dynamic dimension of sport.

Winter sports in art: an exhibition in Bolzano between the 20th century and Futurism

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.