Chiasso cultural centre
23 OCTOBER 2023 – 07 APRIL 2024
The exhibition is part of the trend of the masters of the 20th century, proposing an insight into the creative collaboration between the Swiss scholar Gilbert Clavel and the Rovereto futurist Fortunato Depero: in particular, their contribution is examined in the context of the artistic colony formed in Capri and Anacapri starting from 15th century called “Artopoli” and actively frequented by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, Benedetta Cappa, Enrico Prampolini, Francesco Cangiullo, Julius Evola; during their meetings they also got to know Picasso and Cocteau, without forgetting the presence on the island of Michele Semenov, Sergei Djaghilev and the dancer Léonide Massine.
Fortunato Depero (Fondo, 30 March 1892 – Rovereto, 29 November 1960) is one of the great protagonists of Futurism. Painter, illustrator, set designer and costume designer, he works to give life to a language of experimentation. In 1916 he met the scholar Gilbert Clavel (Kleinhüningen, 29 May 1883 – Basel, 6 September 1927) in Rome, with whom he formed a deep friendship that gave rise to innovative projects. Depero’s relationship with the Torre di Fornillo is central, an evocative building owned by Clavel, a place of art, poetry and experimentation. In 1917, Balli Plastici was born from their collaboration.
In the rooms of the m.a.x. over two hundred works are on display in the museum, including sketches, studies, sketches, paintings and wooden puppets, tapestries, a maquette, vintage photographs, letters and documents (some of which have never been published) which highlight the intense relationship between Clavel’s aesthetic conception and the artistic contribution of Depero’s work.
The exhibition takes place in collaboration with the Mart Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Trento and Rovereto and boasts synergy with highly prestigious lending institutions, including the State Archives of Basel; loans from precious private collections are also essential.
Exhibition curated by Luigi Sansone and Nicoletta Ossanna Cavadini.
