The 16th Art Quadrennial Other times, other myths Palazzo delle

The 16th Art Quadrennial
Other times, other myths
Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Rome
13 October 2016 – 8 January 2017
Rome, 12 October 2016 – This morning, the President of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella
officially opened the 16th Art Quadrennial entitled “Other times, other myths”. The event opens
to the public tomorrow at Palazzo delle Esposizioni. Accompanied by the Minister of Cultural
Heritage and Activities Dario Franceschini, Minister of Foreign Affairs Paolo Gentiloni, Vice
Mayor of Rome Daniele Frongia / Councillor for Cultural Development Luca Bergamo, Councillor for Culture of the Lazio Region, Lidia Ravera, the President of Fondazione La Quadriennale di Roma Franco Bernabè and the Commissioner of Azienda Speciale Palaexpo Innocenzo
Cipolletta, the Head of State was the first visitor to the main institutional exposition dedicated
to contemporary Italian art. A grand comeback - after a pause of eight years - also stressed by the
involvement of the entire City, with its museums, foundation and cultural locations all participating
in the “Fuori Quadriennale”, to be held during the exhibition.
Promoted and organised by Fondazione La Quadriennale di Roma and Azienda Speciale Palaexpo, the exhibition, staged on the Noble Floor of Palazzo delle Esposizioni, spans an area of over
2,000 square metres and presents 10 exhibition sections conceived by 11 curators featuring 99
artists with 150 works, all recent and many created especially for the event. The museum layout
is free and the visitor – starting from the central Rotonda which, during the exhibition, will be animated by the performances, meetings and film showings that are an integral part of the exhibition
projects of many curators – can embark on his or her own personal visitor experience in one of the
exhibition sectors.
The title is inspired by the collection “Un weekend postmoderno. Cronache dagli anni Ottanta”
(1990) (“A postmodern weekend. Stories of the 1980s”) by writer Pier Vittorio Tondelli (1955-1991)
who tells the story of Italy in fragments. Similarly, the 16th Art Quadrennial is conceived as a changing
map of the cultural and artistic productions of contemporary Italy and each of the ten exhibition sections focuses on a theme, method, approach or geneaology that characterises its artistic projects.
Simone Ciglia and Luigia Lonardelli in I would prefer not to/Preferirei di no, present a selection of
authors who exemplify a widespread approach to creating art today, which can be linked to an evasion, a resistance to conform to definitions of identity. Michele D’Aurizio with Ehi, voi! (“Hey, you!”)
proposes portrait painting as a medium with which one can span the most recent developments in
our art, thanks to its ability to express a blend of the individual and social spheres. Luigi Fassi with
La democrazia in America (“Democracy in America”) invites us to analyse in depth some of the aspects
16a QUADRIENNALE D’ARTE
Altri tempi, altri miti
PALAZZO DELLE ESPOSIZIONI
via Nazionale 194, Roma
13 OTTOBRE 2016 – 8 GENNAIO 2017
www.quadriennale16.it
of the history of modern-day Italy by re-interpreting the thinking of Tocqueville. Simone Frangi in
Orestiade italiana (“Italian Oresteia”) turns its gaze to the context of our country, and its cultural, political and economic sides, with a collective analogical rewriting of several core concepts of a work
of film by Pasolini. Luca Lo Pinto in A occhi chiusi, gli occhi sono straordinariamente aperti (“With Your
Eyes Shut, They’re Wide Open”) probes into the themes of time, identity and memory, interpreted in
continuous metamorphosis within the relationship between the single and the collective. Matteo
Lucchetti in De Rerum Rurale focuses on rural nature as a real, speculative space in which to describe and re-imagine the system of relations between natural and man-made environments, also
in its historical depth. Marta Papini in Lo stato delle cose (“The State of Things”) proposes a system
in progress in which the rotation of very different artists establishes a dialectic space between their
individual explorations and between these and the audience. Cristiana Perrella in La seconda volta
(“The Second Time”) identifies a nucleus of authors who share an interest in using materials full of
stories that have already been told, which they reinterpret in apparently impossible combinations,
guided by the poetics of transformation. Domenico Quaranta with Cyphoria analyses the impact of
digital media on the various aspects of life, experience, imagination and storytelling. Denis Viva in
Periferiche (“Peripherals”) identifies in polycentrism an original structural condition of our territory
that also permeates our visual culture.
Friday 28 October the International Jury – composed of Ferran Barenblit, director of the MACBA
Museum of Contemporary Art in Barcelona, Volker W. Feierabend, President of the VAF Foundation in Frankfurt, Susanne Pfeffer, director of the Fridericianum Museum in Kassel and soon to
be the curator of the Germany Pavilion at the Biennale in Venice - will meet in Rome to assign the
Quadrennial Award of €20,000.
The same international jury will be joined by Carlo Bach, artistic director of illycaffè, to assign the
illy Under 35 Award of €15,000 to the artist, chosen from those at the event, whose work appears
to convey a particularly new form of expression in the trends of the current Italian panorama.
Half of the €2 million budget of the 16th Art Quadrennial is sustained by a grant from the General Direction of Contemporary Art and Architecture and Urban Suburbs of the Italian Ministry of Cultural
Heritage and Activities and Tourism (Mibact) and the remaining 50% is provided by contributions
from the two promoting partners, Fondazione La Quadriennale di Roma and Azienda Speciale Palaexpo, and from a number of sponsors who have believed in the initiative from the very beginning and
set up specific projects.
Eni, main sponsor of the exhibition, renews its commitment to culture with a communication project
about contemporary art for young people between the ages of 16 and 25 years old, an educational
initiative designed to promote knowledge of the subject and a permanent installation in Palazzo
delle Esposizioni.
BMW Italia, sponsor of the 16th Art Quadrennial, celebrates 50 years in business and the 100th
year anniversary of the BMW Group reserving a surprise for visitors when they finish touring the ex-
16a QUADRIENNALE D’ARTE
Altri tempi, altri miti
PALAZZO DELLE ESPOSIZIONI
via Nazionale 194, Roma
13 OTTOBRE 2016 – 8 GENNAIO 2017
www.quadriennale16.it
hibition: l’Art Car, created by Sandro Chia in 1992, which attests to the cultural philosophy of BMW,
a brand that has always supported important artistic events. Sandro Chia is the only Italian artist to
have taken part in the BMW Art Car project and, in the same year, the Florentine author also staged
an important exhibition within the 12th Quadrennial: “Italia 1950 – 1990. Profili Dialettica Situazioni”,
held in Palazzo delle Esposizioni.
Terna, manager of the Italian electricity transmission grid, presents “Young@Art”: a project that
will convey energy to the new generations by promoting training in specialised areas and favouring
their introduction into the world of employment. The first part of Young@Art envisages traineeships to be held in the same months as the Quadrennial, in the communication, documentation and
events areas. The second will offer vocational guidance meetings at the Academies of Fine Arts
and Higher Training Institutes, during which students will enter into a real dialogue with artists, creative minds and professionals regarding the careers prospects offered by their industry.
BPER Banca is the official bank of the Quadrennial, and with this important contribution, it reinforces its commitment to sustaining art and culture.
Grandi Stazioni Retail participates with the project “Vetrina Roma Termini”, offering the winner of
the Quadrennial Award the opportunity to exhibit one of their works in the “Termini Terrace”, which
will also be the location for a series of appointments on the legends of our time, to be attended by
celebrities from the worlds of culture, journalism and art.
AXA Italia and AXA Art sustain the 16th Art Quadrennial with a partnership which focuses on promoting the new artistic generations, with a series of events which started in Art Basel 2016, of which
AXA Art is an Official Partner, and will end in the annual Forum of AXA Italia.
illy reconfirms its long-standing support and commitment to contemporary art by participating in
the 16th Quadrennial with the Illy Under 35 Award.
Fondazione Altagamma unites high-end Italian cultural and creative companies, which, also thanks
to their intrinsic link with art and culture, promote the uniqueness of Italy and its lifestyle throughout
the world. It is participating in the 16th Quadrennial in the role of ambassador.
L’Hotel de Russie supports the 16th Quadrennial and, through the other Rocco Forte hotels, is helping to promote the event in other cities in Italy and abroad.
Ferrovie dello Stato is the official transport partner of the 16th Quadrennial and is dedicating a
special issue of its magazine “La Freccia Arte” to the event.
16a QUADRIENNALE D’ARTE
Altri tempi, altri miti
PALAZZO DELLE ESPOSIZIONI
via Nazionale 194, Roma
13 OTTOBRE 2016 – 8 GENNAIO 2017
www.quadriennale16.it
16th Art Quadrennial Other times, other myths
Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Via Nazionale 194, Rome
13 October 2016 – 8 January 2017
Opening hours: Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm;
Friday and Saturday from 10:00 am to 10:30 pm
Admission: adult € 10, concession € 8, Open Quadriennale for students € 8; schools € 4.00
(per student); students Friday and Saturday € 4.00 from 7.00 pm to the closure;
www.palazzoesposizioni.it
Catalogue: BLACK € 30
www.quadriennale16.it | @la_Quadriennale | #quadriennaledarte #Q16
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16a QUADRIENNALE D’ARTE
Altri tempi, altri miti
PALAZZO DELLE ESPOSIZIONI
via Nazionale 194, Roma
13 OTTOBRE 2016 – 8 GENNAIO 2017
www.quadriennale16.it