From October 27, 2023 ToFebruary 11, 2024Genus Bononiae, together with the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio in Bologna, presents Palazzo Fava. Exhibition Palace, Pozzati concept XXLthe first anthological exhibition of the artist held at the museum since his death, curated by Maura Pozzati, art historian and teacher, curator and director of the Concetto Pozzati Archive.
Some fifty works from the Concetto Pozzati Archive (some of them unpublished or have not been exhibited for some time), including large-format paintings, three-dimensional works and works on paper, such as a monumental installation. After all (1980), consisting of 301 drawings, provide an organic and engaging overview that helps shed light on the author’s most significant and lesser-known works. Pozzati had long dreamed of holding an exhibition of large-scale works in Bologna. Genus Bononiae and the Concetto Pozzati Archive realize the artist’s desire by paying tribute with this exhibition to his vast pictorial, graphic, intellectual and human creativity.
Pozzati concept XXL describes a journey that is not chronological, but divided into themes that invite intimate dialogue.
among the artist’s paintings, frescoes and architectural and decorative elements of the Palazzo Fava. The works selected for this exhibition, presented in the 5 rooms of the Piano Nobile and in the Galleria Floor rooms, overlap and well illustrate the main stages of his career, from the informal atmosphere of the late 1950s to the iconic works of the mid-60s, dating from the period “pop”, right up to the productions of the 70s – the least known – which were influenced by the conceptual and experimental climate of the time, to achieve the dense and fleshy painting of the 80s, 90s and 2000s, in which the artist’s interest is recorded to everyday and affectionate objects, until the last dazzling series; Vulvarsince 2016.
The exhibition will bring back for the first time the holistic image of Concetto Pozzati: not only a visual artist, but also a comprehensive intellectual. In fact, he was a theorist and critic, writing about art and curating contemporary art exhibitions in Italy and abroad, becoming artistic director of the Casa del Mantegna in 1998; he was also an avid collector, admired the work of other artists and inspired generations of young and aspiring people; he was active in politics, serving as Cultural Councilor of the Municipality of Bologna from 1993 to 1996; he taught painting at the Academy of Bologna for many years after teaching in Florence and Venice and directing the Academy of Urbino. Major art critics from the second half of the twentieth century to the present day have written about his works, such as Giulio Carlo Argan, Guido Ballo, Giuliano Briganti, Filiberto Menna, Lea Vergine, Carlo Franza, Alberto Boatto, Giorgio Cortenova, Enrico Crispolti, Tommaso Trini, Renato Barilli , Flavio Caroli… and many others.
Pozzati concept (Vo’ Vecchio, Padua, 1935 – Bologna, 2017), son of Mario and nephew of Sepo (Severo Pozzati), studied at the State Institute of Arts in Bologna and then studied in architecture and advertising. From 1956 to 1967 he taught graphics.
advertising. In subsequent years, after teaching in Florence and Venice and directing the Academy of Urbino, he became professor of painting at the Academy of Bologna. Cultural Councilor of the Municipality of Bologna from 1993 to 1996, in 1998 he was artistic director of the House of Mantegna in Mantua. In parallel with his creative career, he carries out numerous commissions for the organization of contemporary art exhibitions in Italian and foreign museums.
Called the “corsair of painting”, he traced a bridge in the dialogue between the various cultural movements of the post-war period, from surrealism to informal art and pop art. Throughout his long career, his work maintained a close connection with the sign, the distinctive trace of his style. He participates in major international exhibitions, including the Rome Quadrennial (1959, 1965, 1973, 1974, 1986), the Venice Biennale (1964, 1972, 1982, 2007, 2009, 2013), the Sao Paulo Biennale (1963), Tokyo. (1963) and Paris (1969), Kassel Documentation (1964). He presents solo and anthological exhibitions in the most important museums and galleries in Italy and abroad, including: Palazzo della Pilotta, Parma (1968, 2002); Palazzo Grassi, Venice (1974); Palazzo delle Espositioni, Rome and Pavilion of Contemporary Art, Ferrara (1976); Museum of Sao Paulo, Brazil (1987); International Center for Graphic Arts and Cankariev House, Ljubljana (1993); Wente Museum in Tokyo (1993); “Icastica”, AAM Architecture Modern Art, Rome (1998); “Depositions”, Museo Magazzino del Sale, Cervia (2006) and Museo Morandi, Bologna (2007); “Ciao Roberta”, Church of St. Stae, Venice (2008); “A casa mia”, Sala dei Battuti, Conegliano (2008); “Ciao Roberta”, Civic Archaeological Museum, Bologna (2008); “Tempo Sospeso”, MAR – Museum of Art of the City of Ravenna (2010); “Cornice Cieca”, CAMeC – Center for Contemporary Art, La Spezia (2012); “Mario and Concetto Pozzati” at the MUVO Museum – Villa Contarini Venier in Vo Vecchio (Poland) (2012); “Blind Frame”, Museo San Domenico in Imola (2013).
In recognition of his artistic career, he has received many official awards, including the University Seal of the University of Bologna (2005). He has been a member of the National Academy of San Luca since 1995 and a member of the academic council since 2005.
Pozzati Concept Archive. The Archive of Concetto Pozzati, born in January 2020 in Bologna by the will of their children Maura and Jacopo Pozzati, is a non-profit cultural association that collects all documentation of the activities of Concetto Pozzati to protect his work, promote research and knowledge, disseminate works and critical thinking and create collective and personal exhibitions in Italy and abroad, both in public and private institutions. The Archive is digitizing the artist’s works and the historical archive, as well as monitoring the availability of works in national and international collections. The Archive’s goal is to become a reference point for experts and scholars, and to promote and expand not only the artistic activity, but also the valuable cultural and intellectual contribution of Concetto Pozzati.
Carlo Franza