In the Veronese hills, between the Lessini Mountains and the Adige Valley, Soave (province of Verona), elected “Village of Villages” in 2022, inaugurates an ambitious exhibition project that transforms the historic center into a hub for reflection on art between past and present. Promoted by the SoaveCultura Association together with the Municipality of Soave, with the support of the Chamber of Commerce of Verona and the patronage of the Veneto Region and the Province of Verona, the Soave Impressions of Art project is divided into two exhibitions hosted in the Church of Santa Maria dei Padri Domenicani, curated by art historian Roberta Tosi. Underlying the initiative, which also enjoys the patronage of Rai Veneto and the mediapartnership of TGR, is the intent to enhance the local artistic and architectural heritage, putting it in dialogue with the works of great masters of the 20th century and contemporary art.
“Certainly a fascinating and ambitious challenge for a reality like Soave,” says the curator. “Not easy nor without obstacles. But art has always had in itself this ability to make the impossible and the imponderable its own. Montale wrote, ’An unexpected / is the only hope.’ I am convinced that art is this unexpected, this sign of hope, capable of moving the many who still have a desire, even if they don’t know it, to feel their lives ignited. Bringing it to a historic village like Soave I think is a really significant sign especially when artists like Omar Galliani or Foundations like Cariverona’s answer to the ”call,“ indicating that to have high-level proposals it is not essential to look for them only in big cities.”
The first exhibition, entitled Un altro ’900. Casorati, Semeghini, Trentini and Art in Verona, will remain open until Sept. 21 and offers a journey through more than seventy years of Veronese art history, from 1875 to 1948. On display will be 31 works signed by 18 artists, including Felice Casorati, Pio Semeghini, Angelo Dall’Oca Bianca, Ettore Beraldini, Alfredo Savini, Ercole Calvi, and Vincenzo De Stefani, as well as other lesser-known but equally important protagonists of the Verona city’s art scene. The works come from the Cariverona Foundation Collection and the Veneri - Dalli Cani private collection.
The exhibition offers the public an opportunity to admire some paintings rarely shown to the public. These include Felice Casorati’s Eggs on the Carpet, which had not been shown since 2018, and Ercole Calvi’s Lavandaie, recently restored. The display also includes Ettore Beraldini’s La canzone del Piave, a 1929 painting that focuses attention on the music performed by a little girl from behind, while the two women in the scene seem to lose themselves in the emotion of the notes. Another major work is Vincenzo De Stefani’s Il Vespro, dated 1884: a large painting in which the painter stops the moment of the exit from the mass, highlighting his technical skill at a still youthful stage of his career.
The exhibition is enriched with four works by Alfredo Savini, an artist from Bologna who contributed to the cultural ferment of late 19th-century Verona. The most famous self-portrait by Pio Semeghini, a central figure in the development of twentieth-century painting in the Veneto, also stands out. Also of particular interest is the contribution of Angelo Dall’Oca Bianca, a leading figure in the city’s artistic life, whose two works belonging to the Veneri - Dalli Cani collection are featured: Il ripiego di un negligente and Primavera, exemplars of the author’s lively style and strongly influenced by photography. The entire exhibition highlights the transformation of Veronese figurative painting over seventy years, emphasizing the progressive opening to Symbolist suggestions, the Viennese Secession, the art of the Fauves and post-Impressionism. The initiative represents an unprecedented event for Soave, both in terms of the quality of the works on display and the coherence of the itinerary, which connects different artistic experiences but united by a constant tension between tradition and innovation.
From September 27 to November 30, however, it will be the turn of the second event, dedicated to the internationally renowned artist Omar Galliani. The exhibition, titled ... Open Your Eyes, will consist of a site-specific installation designed to dialogue with the frescoes of the Church of Santa Maria dei Padri Domenicani. The intervention draws inspiration from the figure of St. Lucy and stands as a reflection on time and the ability to observe reality from new perspectives, through a gaze that combines spiritual dimension and contemporary tension. Around the main work will revolve other recent works by the artist, recognizable by the elegant stroke and introspective approach.
At the same time, the streets and squares of the village will be traversed by the Urban Jungle project by Verona sculptor Sabrina Ferrari. Her works in corten steel and bronze, including the imposing Freedom sculpture already placed at the entrance to the village, will provide a three-dimensional counterpoint to the exhibition events, helping to extend the dialogue between art and urban space. The imaginary creatures conceived by Ferrari seem to emerge from the stone and history of Soave, in a visual and conceptual short-circuit that integrates the fantastical element with the solidity of the architectural landscape.
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| Soave (Verona) hosts double exhibition on 20th century art and contemporary installations |
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