Organised and produced by the Fondazione Banca del Monte di Rovigo, with the patronage of the Ministry of Culture, and published by Antiga Edizioni, on Friday 29 May at 6.00 pm at TRAleVOLTE, a cultural venue dedicated to promoting art and architecture, The book, Gabbris Ferrari (1937–2015): Painter, Set Designer and Director, was presented by the author, Ivana D’Agostino.
The book launch in Rome follows that in Rovigo, the birthplace of Gabbris Ferrari, an eclectic and multifaceted man of letters, painter, set designer, director and playwright, who was a leading figure in his hometown, having also served as Councillor for Culture and worked closely with the city’s theatre. The Rovigo event was followed by presentations in Venice and Urbino, where Ferrari worked as a set designer at the respective Academies of Fine Arts. In both cities, he took the initiative to produce shows that involved the two institutions he was affiliated with, alongside local cultural organisations, universities, and departments of culture; in Venice, this included La Biennale Teatro. The aim of the Grand Tour promoting the book on Gabbris Ferrari in various cities – following Rome, the tour will visit Spoleto during the Rassegna del Teatro Lirico Sperimentale, Parma for the Festival Verdiano, and Treviso – is to retrace, in spirit, some of the significant milestones that shaped his artistic and cultural development, and to raise awareness of his work.
The book, which has been on display at the Turin Book Fair since 14 May, is the result of extensive research into unpublished documents, works of art, sketches, posters, stage photographs and much more, and provides a systematic overview of Ferrari’s artistic and professional career, documenting it visually with a substantial collection of references and images.
The examination of private archives and collections, together with the discovery of new works, has enriched the text, lending it a historical and critical depth that has made it possible to present the events in a coherent chronological sequence. It is completed by an updated Biography of the Artist, a list of Solo and Group Exhibitions, entries on some paintings considered significant, and others relating to the ongoing project in Rovigo, the ‘Galleria d’Arte diffusa’. Gabbris Ferrari’s works in the city. It also includes entries on performances for the Lirico Theatre, prose theatre, collaborations with Teatrodanza, Operastudio, the Italian Drama Company of Fiume, and the Minimiteatri.
By shedding light on the artist’s exploration of the relationship between the visual arts and the performing arts, the book highlights a phenomenon characteristic of the twentieth century, in which painters – such as Picasso, De Chirico, Severini, Sironi and Guttuso – often also worked in stage design. This is a subject that has been the focus of academic research, to which this book adds a further piece of the mosaic.
At the book launch in Rome, alongside the author, Ivana D’Agostino, Elsa Piperno, a dancer and choreographer, and Artistic Director of the Compagnia Teatrodanza, with whom Gabbris Ferrari began his early collaborations as a set and costume designer.
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