Fine pieces of Italian and African art at auction in Rome
Precious pieces by Italian and African masters such as Accardi, Mauri, Kounellis, Macilau and Mabunda will soon go on auction in Rome...
Rome, 1 March 2017 - Tradition meets exoticism. The dark continent marrying the old. One great love in common: modern and contemporary art. Meeting point will be auction no. 6 at Arcadia (www.astearcadia.com), an auction house in Rome now in its sixth sale, the first of 2017. The event, scheduled for Monday 13 March, will feature valuable pieces by leading artists, both modern and contemporary, from Africa and Italy.
Among the latter is the late master of Arte Povera, Jannis Kounellis.
Among the former are two protagonists of the 2015 edition of the Venice Biennale, Mario Macilau and Gonçalo Mabunda.
"The growing interest of the collecting world in African art, shared by the likes of Pablo Picasso (an avid collector of tribal masks) and Amedeo Modigliani, is in our view consistent with the process of "essentialisation" of language taking place in contemporary society (just think of the overwhelming power of social networks) and is linked to the typical primitivism through which African artists make their works an effective and immediate means of communication," explain the auction organisers.
The 'Throne of Arms' of the aforementioned Mabunda or Almighty God, with the cloth becoming a sacred text, are just examples of what the round of contemporary African art. Returning within our borders, the spearheads of the exhibition scheduled from Wednesday 8 March are Carla Accardi and Fabio Mauri, as well as the artists of the Piazza del Popolo school, exponents of Roman pop art. Among many others, Vettor Pisani, the highly refined artist, made more topical than ever by the recent publication of the catalogue of the exhibition "Eroica/Antieroica: Una retrospettiva" at the Madre museum in Naples.Returning to our borders, the spearheads of the exhibition scheduled from Wednesday 8 March are Carla Accardi and Fabio Mauri, as well as the artists of the Piazza del Popolo school, exponents of Roman pop art. Also present, among many others, is Vettor Pisani, a refined artist, made more topical than ever by the recent publication of the catalogue of the exhibition 'Eroica/Antieroica: Una retrospettiva' at the Madre museum in Naples.
Among the Italian artists of the 20th century, the focus is on Carlo Carrà, Afro Basaldella and Gino Severini, without neglecting an aeropainting by Italo Ferro, an artist as mysterious as he is controversial. In between, a few lots of graphics and an entire section dedicated to Vittorio Sella, the Biella-born photographer and mountaineer, increasingly in vogue in the world of Italian and international collecting.
The last lot up for auction, the proceeds of which will be donated to the charity Teatro Patologico, will be exceptionally auctioned by Francesco Montanari, who plays the 'Lebanese' in the TV series Romanzo Criminale.