L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JUNE 11, 2015 www.italoamericano.org L'Italo-Americano 9 The Museo Italo Americano of San Francisco is very excited to share its latest acquisitions as w ell as old favorites w ith friends, members, and visitors this summer. On June 12 th , the new exhibit La Collezione will display an extraordinary selec- tion of artwork from its perma- nent collection: a great number of works by Beniamino Bufano, a renowned and accomplished artist, largely beloved in the Bay Area; paintings and works on paper by lands cape virtuos i G ottardo P iazzoni, Rinaldo Cuneo, John Mancini and Luigi Lucioni; artwork from abs tract expres s ionis t J ohn Grillo; paintings by well appre- ciated artists from the Italian Transavanguardia movement such as Francesco Clemente, Sandro Chia, Mimmo Paladino, and many other outs tanding works by Italian and local Italian American artists. The exhibition will also cele- brate three new sets of works that will be a real treat. First, a brand new acquisition will be s how cas ed in a dedicated gallery: a set of ten engravings by Italian Jesuit missionary, artist and architect Giuseppe Castiglione that will be enrich- ing La Collezione with their incredibly detailed sceneries. These works were produced dur- ing the mid-18 th century under orders of the Qianlong Emperor and portray the European Palaces of the Yuanmingyuan. These exquisite works of art are a gift to the M us eo Italo Americano from Vince Fausone and Sheila Wishek, members of the Museo Board of Directors. Another bonus for future visi- tors will be selections from the Huberman Collection, which includes an impressive number of Italian ceramics collected by beloved Museo member and stu- dent Alice Huberman. Alice was a refined chef and spent several years in Italy to further improve her craft. Last year she left her collection to the Museo, which is now honored to share it to the public. Las t but not leas t, a rich assortment of saints and allegori- cal figures – The F alas s i Collection – will make its debut in the Museo's galleries, as well. The collection consists of an array of figurines collected by Professor Alessandro Falassi of Siena, Italy, who generously donated them to the Museo in 2013. Statuettes have been a con- stant presence in Italian iconog- raphy since the 8 th century B.C., representing gods to whom the faithful paid homage. Later, with the coming of Christianity the old gods were replaced by new s aints . N ymph and cherubs became decorative figures, and s tatuettes of s aints and the Madonna were collected and revered in homes or at cross- roads on altars . The F alas s i Collection includes valuable antique statues dating from the 17 th Century, fine porcelain Capodimonte figurines from the 19 th Century, as well as charm- ing pieces of folk art and even "tourist" art – all chosen for their anthropological as well as aes- thetic value. When asked about this unique part of the exhibit, Mary Serventi Steiner, curator of the Museo, provided interesting insight into Alessandro Falassi's impressive background. Mary, who was Alessandro Falassi? Alessandro was a cultural anthropologist, scholar, and uni- versity professor from Siena, Italy. He collected art and arti- facts from around the world, was an expert on folklore and festi- vals, and the author of dozens of books - many of which have been translated into several lan- guages. There was one festival particularly dear to his heart, however: the Palio of Siena. Twice a year for centuries, ten of Siena's seventeen contrade or neighborhoods compete in an emotional bareback horserace around the Piazza del Campo for a prize also called the palio - an eight-foot high, hand-painted s ilk banner. S ince the early 1970s, Siena has commissioned many of these banners to be painted by important contempo- rary artists. Falassi often served on the committee of city officials that selected the artists, approved the drafts, presented the artist and banner to the city at the unveiling ceremony, and judged the race its elf. L a T er r a in Piazza, his 1975 book on the Palio, co-written with Berkeley professor Alan Dundes is now in its ninth printing. U pon Alessandro's death in February of 2014, the mayor of Siena, Bruno Valentini wrote, "If mil- lions of people around the world have been able to comprehend the true essence of the Palio, we certainly owe it to him." Wh at factors in flu en ced your vision of how to display the Falassi Collection? I met A les s andro F alas s i when I spent a semester in Siena in 1976. He was the director of my s tudy abroad program through the U nivers ity of Colorado, my Italian folklore profes s or, and w ent on to become of one of my dearest friends. It is very difficult for me to s eparate A les s andro from Siena and the Palio. I chose to surround the Falassi Collection of Saints and Allegorical Figures with works of art by six artists of the Museo's permanent col- lection—Valerio Adami, Sandro Chia, F rances co Clemente, Renato G uttus o, M immo Paladino and Emilio Tadini. Though these highly regarded modern artis ts come from diverse artistic backgrounds, they all have one thing in com- mon: they were all artists of the Palio. We have titled this room of the exhibit "F alas s i & Friends". Ho w d id th e Falas s i C ollection lan d in S an Francisco? A les s andro s pent s everal years living in the Bay Area - first, as a graduate student at U.C. Berkeley where he earned his doctorate in Cultural Anthropology and later as visit- ing professor. Being the gener- ous soul and patron of the arts that he was, he offered his col- lection to the Museo in 2013, in his words "with gratitude to the community to which I belonged many years ago". And we grate- fully accepted. Additional noteworthy artists included in the exhibit: Giorgio De Chirico, Arnaldo Pomodoro, Italo Scanga, Alan Shepp. Info: Museo Italo Americano 2 Marina Blvd. Fort Mason Center, Bldg. C San Francisco, CA 94123 www.sfmuseo.org Museo's Curator Mary Serventi Steiner and Professor Alessandro Falassi La Collezione del Museo BIANCA FRIUNDI 650.400.4747 AdeleDS@aol.com www.AdeleDS.com BRE# 00911740 Certied Trust, Probate and Estate Specialist Expert in preparation, promotion, and negotiation! SELLING HOMES THROUGHOUT THE BAY AREA Adele Della Santina "e Right Realtor makes all the difference." Cherubino Musico, wood sculpture, c.1600, The Falassi Collection

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