It will be preceded by a preview opening on January 26 —coinciding with the 41st edition of Arte Fiera - the exhibition that Galleria d'Arte Maggiore dedicates to the celebrated American painter Robert Motherwell. Curated by Alessia Calarota, the exhibition path offers a clear reading of his distinctive interpretation of the season of American Abstract Expressionism.
Originally from Aberdeen, Washington, where he was born in 1915, Motherwell trained in painting at the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco. He graduated first from Stanford University and then from Harvard, in literature, philosophy, and art history. His artistic trajectory absorbed elements of Cubism and Surrealism; later, he turned toward a gestural form of painting in which personal, political, and literary themes were widely explored. Aiming “to express what happens inside human beings,” he pursued a mental and physical union with the artworks themselves.
Particularly significant in his career were the lessons of artists such as Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, and Mark Rothko. Thanks to these figures, he approached Abstract Expressionism, quickly becoming one of its well-known and original exponents. Essential to the formation of his style were also the contributions of his countless travels—including a 1941 trip to Mexico with Roberto Sebastian Matta—and his remarkable inclination toward study.
After his first solo exhibition in New York — at Peggy Guggenheim’s Art of This Century gallery in 1944 — the first museum in the world to acquire one of his works was the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). In 1965 it honored him with a retrospective.
After his first solo exhibition in New York — at Peggy Guggenheim’s Art of This Century gallery in 1944 — the first museum in the world to acquire one of his works was the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). In 1965 it honored him with a retrospective.
As the Bologna exhibition will demonstrate, Robert Motherwell produced oils, prints, and collages, works characterized by simple, flat forms, while color—from black to warm, brilliant tones—creates “a play of sharp contrasts with the background.” After the week of Arte Fiera, the exhibition will be officially inaugurated on February 4 and will remain open until March 31, 2017.