Valentino Sponsors Exhibit on Italian Contemporary Painting at Triennale Milano

Tratto da WWD, October 6, 2023

ART SUPPORTER: Valentino is strengthening its ties with the world of art with a partnership with the Triennale Milano museum.

The company is sponsoring an exhibition dedicated to Italian contemporary painting slated to run from Oct. 25 to Feb. 11 and will be part of the packed schedule of events marking the 100th anniversary of the multidisciplinary institution.

Dubbed “Pittura Italiana Oggi,” or “Italian Painting Today” in English, the show is being curated by Damiano Gullì and will bring together the works of 120 of the most interesting Italian artists from the 1960s to the 2000s.

The exhibition will feature one work per artist, created between 2020 and 2023 to provide cross-generational perspectives and original interpretations of contemporaneity. In particular, the time frame of reference is seen as pivotal for its historical, social and economic transformations and upheavals, from the pandemic and wars to the evolving applications of artificial intelligence. Reflections of such events will be detectable in many of the works on display.

Among the talents showcased, five artists have already collaborated with the fashion brand on the Valentino Des Ateliers fall 2021 couture collection, which was presented with a runway show in Venice. For the show, 22 out of the 82 designs were created in an exchange with an international group of 17 artists, including five whose works will be included in the museum exhibit: Benni Bosetto, Guglielmo Castelli, Francis Offman, Andrea Respino and Sofia Silvia.

At the time, Valentino’s creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli underscored that “fashion is not art,” as the former “always has a practical scope while art is an end in itself.” Yet he said they share a common intent to reflect a historical moment and a perspective, each through its own language.

The designer penned the introduction to the catalogue that will flank the Triennale Milano exhibition. Published by Electa, the tome will include contributions by Triennale Milano’s president Stefano Boeri and show curator Gullì; art critics Francesco Bonami, Susan Hudson and Davide Ferri; a conversation on painting between the artistic director of Serpentine Galleries in London, Hans Ulrich Obrist, and artist Katharina Grosse, and a text on the exhibition design by architect Italo Rota, among others.

Overall, the show is linked to the history of Triennale Milano as it draws inspiration from the mural painting exhibitions organized in the Palazzo dell’Arte since 1933, as well as from Luciano Baldessari’s project for the 9th International Exhibition in 1951. The aim is to highlight how painting has been an object of analysis and display for the institution since its founding, in addition to spotlighting the richness and complexity of Italian painting.

Valentino’s sponsorship of the show is the latest in a series of art-related projects launched by the brand, which ranged from the Valentino on Canvas initiative spotlighting contemporary and emerging painters and sculptors to supporting the work of Gian Maria Tosatti at the Venice Art Biennale in 2022.

As reported, earlier this year the brand invited Italian artist Gioele Amaro — known for his digital color fields printed on canvas — to display his work at the brand’s new store in Avenue Montaigne in Paris. These were flanked by a huge billboard appeared on Avenue de l’Opéra which made for a unique piece Amaro specifically created for the occasion.

Recently, Valentino also collaborated with contemporary talents for Frieze in Singapore and Seoul, tasking them to reinterpret the brand’s codes in new artworks.

“Hostia” by Nicola Verlato, 2022. Courtesy Fondazione The Bank

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