words by Carol King
The Thirties: The Arts in Italy Beyond Fascism show opens at Palazzo Strozzi in Florence on 22 September.
The exhibition explores the most innovative and vibrant art of the era with masterpieces by Mario Sironi, Giorgio de Chirico, Carlo Carrà , Lucio Fontana and Giorgio Morandi, as well as examples of design and the applied arts. It attempts to take an unprecedented look through contemporary eyes at painting, sculpture, design and mass communication during what was a period of rapid change in the arts.
Curators have selected films, photographs, 96 paintings, 17 sculptures and 20 design pieces to tell the story of the Fascist regime. It was a time when the avant garde clashed with tradition. The revolution in the arts world produced an extraordinary wealth of styles including Futurism, Expressionism and Abstract Art, as seen in the works displayed that range from monumental art to decorative paintings for bourgeois homes.
The exhibition also illustrates how the nascent development of mass communication in Italy via radio, cinema and illustrated magazines purloined ideas from Fine Art and conveyed them to a wide audience. Visitors can see how Italy’s now world famous design industry began when mass production arrived leading to everything from tubular seats to Luminator lamps.
The show runs until 27 January 2013. Tickets cost €10.
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