Iaphet Elli  |
| Umberto Boccioni
Elasticity (Elasticità), 1912 Oil on canvas, 100 x 100 cm Museo del Novecento, Milan © Museo del Novecento, Comune di Milano (all legal rights reserved) Photo: Luca Carrà |
Italian Futurism, 1909–1944: Reconstructing the Universe
on View at the Guggenheim Museum through September 1
FINAL WEEKS
Italian Futurism, 1909–1944: Reconstructing the Universe
Through September 1, 2014
Described by the New York Times as “epic” and a “phenomenal show of shows,” Italian Futurism, 1909–
1944: Reconstructing the Universe is the first comprehensive overview in the United States of one of
Europe’s most important 20th-century avant-garde movements. Featuring over 360 works by more
than 80 artists, architects, designers, photographers, and writers, this multidisciplinary exhibition
examines the full historical breadth of Futurism, from its 1909 inception with the publication of F. T.
Marinetti’s first Futurist manifesto through its demise at the end of World War II. The presentation
includes many rarely seen works, some of which have never traveled outside of Italy. It encompasses not
only painting and sculpture, but also the advertising, architecture, ceramics, design, fashion, film, freeform
poetry, music, performance, photography, publications, and theater of this dynamic and often
contentious movement that championed modernity and insurgency. For more information, download
the press kit at guggenheim.org/presskits.
The final weeks of the exhibition offer a last chance to view the celebrated canvases that compose the
Syntheses of Communications (1933–34) by Benedetta (Benedetta Cappa Marinetti). They are being
shown for the first time outside of their original location in Palermo, Sicily, and will return to Italy after
the close of the exhibition. One of few public commissions awarded to a Futurist in the 1930s, the cycle
of five monumental paintings was created for Palermo’s Palazzo delle Poste (Post Office). The murallike
works celebrate multiple modes of communication, many enabled by technological innovations, and
correspond with the focus on modernity and the “total work of art” concept that underpinned the
Futurist ethos.
Please note that Tower Levels 5 and 7, which contain Benedetta’s murals and major works by Giacomo
Balla and Fortunato Depero, close August 20.
CURATOR’S EYE TOUR
Friday, August 22, 2 pm
Susan Thompson, Assistant Curator, leads a tour of the exhibition. The tour is interpreted in ASL. Free
with museum admission and no advance registration required.
For more information, visit guggenheim.org/futurism-events.
The exhibition is organized by Vivien Greene, Senior Curator, 19th- and Early 20th-Century Art,
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. An international advisory committee composed of eminent
scholars from a variety of disciplines provided expertise and guidance in the preparation of this
thorough exploration of the Futurist movement, a major modernist expression that in many ways
remains little known among American audiences.
This exhibition is made possible by Lavazza.
Support is provided in part by the National Endowment for the Arts and the David Berg Foundation,
with additional funding from the Juliet Lea Hillman Simonds Foundation, The Robert Lehman
Foundation, and the New York State Council on the Arts.
The Leadership Committee for Italian Futurism, 1909–1944: Reconstructing the Universe is also
gratefully acknowledged for its generosity, including the Hansjörg Wyss Charitable Endowment;
Stefano and Carole Acunto; Giancarla and Luciano Berti; Ginevra Caltagirone; Massimo and Sonia
Cirulli Archive; Daniela Memmo d’Amelio; Achim Moeller, Moeller Fine Art; Pellegrini Legacy Trust;
and Alberto and Gioietta Vitale.
This exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.
Public programs are supported in part by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural
Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
VISITOR INFORMATION
Admission: Adults $22, students/seniors (65+) $18, members and children under 12 free. The
Guggenheim’s free app, available with admission or by download to personal devices, offers an
enhanced visitor experience. The app features content on special exhibitions as well as access to more
than 1,500 works in the Guggenheim’s permanent collection and information about the museum’s
landmark building. A verbal imaging guide for the collection is available for visitors who are blind or
have low vision. The Guggenheim app is sponsored by Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Museum Hours: Sun–Wed 10 am–5:45 pm, Fri 10 am–5:45 pm, Sat 10 am–7:45 pm, closed Thurs. On
Saturdays, beginning at 5:45 pm, the museum hosts Pay What You Wish. For general information, call
212 423 3500 or visit the museum online at: guggenheim.org and guggenheim.org/connect.