Gallivanting among galleries: it is said that upon emerging from the Gotthard Tunnel on the Ticino side, one finds oneself in a new, tropical country, leaving the often cold and foggy northern region of Switzerland behind. However; when I first got out of the car in Canton Ticino--after a brilliant drive through warm sunshine that lasted until the entrance to the tunnel--I was knocked back by a cold, wet wind.
| Auteur | Stefan, Olga |
| Fonction | ARTS & CULTURE |
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Was this the famous Ticino weather that so many tourists flock to, and so many of Europe's great artists and intellectuals took refuge in?
However, as we continued down toward Ascona, the wind and cold started to subside, the sun started to peek out and I started to realise why this area has been a haven for so many decades. By the time we parked our car, I too had fallen in love with Ascona's beautiful medieval streets, breathtaking view of Lago Maggiore and its surrounding mountains speckled by white houses, as well as the tranquil atmosphere of this small, but lively town.
Airing in Ascona
In homage to this attractive and unique atmosphere, the Museo Comunale d'Arte Moderna of Ascona, housed in the Palazzo Pancaldi (a splendidly remodelled late 16th-century building), is now featuring an exhibit of work by many great European artists who lived and worked in Ticino for a large part of their careers.
Organising the show, called L'Energia Del Luogo: Alla Ricerca Del Genius Loci, was a major undertaking. Not only did a great number of exhibition venues from the region take part, but there was also cross-continental collaboration with the Kettle's Yard University Museum in Cambridge.
"The idea for the show was Sebastiano Barassi's, the curator of the Kettle's Yard collection of Cambridge ... who wanted to focus on the relationships between the artists who lived in the Locarno region," says Dr. Mara Folini, curator at the Ascona museum.
The exhibition features the work of modernists like Jean Arp, Hans Richter and Julius Bissier, whose work is also currently on exhibit in many other Ticino museums and galleries. Others like Italo Valenti, Mark Tobey, Ben Nicholson and Raffael Benazzi are featured as well. They came to Ticino in search of good weather, peace and beauty, and to form a community of artists that collaborated, exchanged ideas and created an artistic discourse that influenced future generations. Bissier wrote of this atmosphere as "the roundhouse of international spirits".
This exhibit focuses on the period of the 1950s-1960s, and will be on view through July 5. At the Casa Serodine, where another part of the exhibit is on display, there is also a separate section devoted to Monte Verita and the early modernist migration to these parts of Ticino in the first two decades of the 20th century.
Monte Verita
Monte Verita--an artist and intellectual colony--was established in 1889 by Swiss theosopher Alfredo Pioda...
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