Catalog of the Exhibition “Forma e Materia. La grande scultura italiana del Novecento”
From March 2 to March 30, 2024, Galleria Russo presents Forma e Materia. La grande scultura italiana del Novecento, an exhibition curated by Fabio Benzi that features approximately 30 works representing the finest of 20th-century Italian sculpture. The exhibition showcases masterpieces by Giacomo Balla, Duilio Cambellotti, Pietro Consagra, Giorgio de Chirico, Lucio Fontana, Leoncillo, Giacomo Manzù, Marino Marini, Arturo Martini, Fausto Melotti, Arnoldo Pomodoro, Medardo Rosso, Thayhat, Adolfo Wildt, and Pino Pascali. These artists, long represented by Galleria Russo, narrate the historical and cultural evolution of Italian sculpture.
The exhibition spans from the impressionist works of Medardo Rosso to the mythical realism of Duilio Cambellotti, the dynamism of Balla, the realism of Arturo Martini’s La Pisana, and culminates in the abstract works of Melotti from the late 1960s. The show offers a comprehensive view of how sculpture evolved throughout the 20th century.
Materials such as bronze, terracotta, wax, ceramic, and stoneware were employed by these great masters to bring their visions to life. In this exhibition, forma (form) and materia (material) take center stage in the Roman spaces of the historic Galleria Russo, which for over a century has been a cultural hub for Italian art. The sculptures, though often small in scale, convey a sense of monumentality and testify to the transformations in art, society, taste, and criticism during the 20th century. Many of the works also come from prestigious collections, including the Sarfatti and Jesi collections, with Jesi’s donation now enriching the Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan.
As curator Fabio Benzi notes, “The history of modern sculpture is one of forced boundaries, bold experimentation, battles, and defeats, as well as breakthroughs and victories over the past, similar to the story of painting but with additional technical and representational challenges. Italian sculpture, with its alternating conquests, triumphs, and downfalls, made an enormous and essential contribution to international sculpture in the 20th century. Without its exploration and challenges, the stunning innovations of the 20th century would not have occurred in the way we know them.”
But how much do we truly know about Italian 20th-century sculpture? Fabrizio Russo, owner of Galleria Russo, elaborates on this question, having dealt with the greatest figures of this period for years. He remarks, “The 20th century should be seen as the mother era for the concept of studying and evolving plasticity and dynamism. Many artists of this period, whom the gallery has proudly represented and supported for years, placed their artistic abilities at the service of the ‘third dimension.’ With sculpture, the pursuit of truth and beauty becomes tangible and observable from multiple perspectives. Through this exhibition, the gallery acts as a conduit for this message for the first time.”
