LIGABUE AND VITALONI. GIVING NATURE A VOICE
Conceived and realized by Augusto Agosta Tota, Marzio Dall’Acqua e Vittorio Sgarbi
September 17, 2020 – August 29, 2021
Parma, Palazzo Tarasconi
Parma now has a new exhibition space, in the heart of the ducal city, inside 16th-century Palazzo Tarasconi, where a major exhibition devoted to Antonio Ligabue (1899-1965), one of the most ingenious and original twentieth-century Italian artists, will be held from 17 September 2020 to 30 May 2021.
Due to the Coronavirus emergency, the event which was initially planned to be held from April to December of this year, has been postponed, and will open on 19 September 2020 and last through 30 May 2021.
The exhibition, conceived and realized by Augusto Agosta Tota, Marzio Dall’Acqua, and Vittorio Sgarbi, organized by the Centro Studi e Archivio Antonio Ligabue of Parma, promoted by the Fondazione Archivio Antonio Ligabue of Parma, and part of the calendar of events for Parma Capitale Italiana della Cultura 2020+21, presents 83 paintings and 4 sculptures by Ligabue. The works exhibited particularly analyze the themes that mostly characterized Ligabue’s art, from his self-portraits, to his landscapes, to his wild and domestic animals.
The exhibition also includes a section with 15 plastic works by Michele Vitaloni (Milan, 1967), who shares with Ligabue a unique empathy towards the natural and animal world.
“We will go back to seeing the world through Antonio Ligabue’s eyes – says Augusto Agosta Tota, President of the Fondazione Archivio Antonio Ligabue di Parma. Like the great painter of the Po Valley, during these months of isolation we learned to experience in the deepest part of ourselves, feelings of anguish, pain, and helplessness, combined, however, with hope, as we awaited our return to a normal life that we felt we could achieve”.
“And now that we have chosen an opening date for our exhibition – Thursday, 17 September – and thanks to our faith in the idea that this terrible pandemic is behind us, we can finally educate our souls to welcome the emotions that only the works of Ligabue can arouse. By a subtle twist of fate, the exhibition will open at the beginning of autumn, the season that is most in harmony with Ligabue’s expressionist language”.
“This exhibition – Augusto Agosta Tota concludes – presents Ligabue’s masterpieces, alongside the sculptures of Michele Vitaloni, his contemporary epigone, both of them artists attracted to wild animals and their vital strength. It is an exhibition that is both fascinating and brimming with important stimuli relevant to our times. In addition to being one of the events on the calendar of Parma capitale italiana della cultura 2020+21, it will offer the public the opportunity to discover a new and inspiring exhibition space, the sixteenth-century Palazzo Tarasconi, in the heart of the ducal city”.
The exhibition design, which is of great visual and theatrical impact, specially conceived by Cesare Inzerillo to create an atmosphere of fusion between painting and sculpture, will lead visitors inside Ligabue’s creative imaginary, analysing the topics the artist dealt with most often.
A comparison between painting and sculpture, an exhibition which, through the artistic experiences of Antonio Ligabue and Michele Vitaloni, investigates that animal and instinctual part of the human being. Antonio Ligabue and Michele Vitaloni share a particular empathy towards the animal world and, narrating its wonders, investigate the nature of man. Especially when it comes to artistic inspiration, these two great interpreters draw their representative power from that instinctual and primordial part that approaches the human to the animal sphere. Hearing the roar of the tiger within us we can escape, or find a place to make its voice heard.
Contact us to book your guided tour for a day full of emotions!
From Tuesday to Sunday, 10.00 am – 7.30 pm
Monday open only for groups with reservation
Guided tour lasting approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes
Meeting at Palazzo Tarasconi Soragna, Via Farini n. 37 in Parma
RESERVATION REQUIRED. Reservations must be made by 7.00 pm on the day before the visit.
Contact the secretariat for availability and costs
Tickets (pre-sale costs not included):
Adult € 10,00
Discount € 8,00 under 26 and over 65, groups of at least 15 people
Special discount for schools € 5,00
Free for children under 6 years of age
Pre-sale: https://www.ticketone.it/city/parma-1937/mostre-e-musei-57/
It is mandatory to wear a mask and maintain a minimum interpersonal distance of 1 meter between the participants, except for people who, according to the provisions in force, are not subject to interpersonal distancing (e.g. families)
Info and reservations