Viva Gino! A Life in Art
Gino Di Maggio's collection is on display at the Abattoirs.
For the first time, Les Abattoirs present works acquired over the years by Gino Di Maggio, an Italian collector who worked with and promoted artists who changed the international art scene from the 1950s to the 1960s. This exhibition brings together more than one hundred works by nearly 70 artists.
This exhibition brings together much more than exceptional works, it tells the story of a lifetime. As his friend Ben writes, it is a manifesto "for another way of living" with art and artists. Following a historical path, the exhibition presents the constitution of a collection developed through encounters. It tells the story of Gino Di Maggio through his commitment to artists, through his acquisitions, his publishing work and through the activities of his Milanese foundation, Mudima.
Futurism was the starting point for Gino Di Maggio, which triggered his curiosity for art. Sicilian by origin, engineer by training, he crossed the path of this Italian artistic movement that appeared in 1909 at the end of the 1950s. He considered it to be the most radical and revolutionary form of the young avant-garde, allowing the exploration of linguistic innovations through an experimental approach. The exhibition presents all the Futurist manifestos collected around the world.
This exhibition brings together paintings, photographic works, drawings, sculptures, installations, videos, etc. It looks back at the constant evolution of a collection that bears witness to a particular taste for performance, interdisciplinarity in art, musical experimentation... The great nave of the Abattoirs is transformed into a great Fluxus hall where the sound of transformed pianos resounds.
Much more than a simple collector, as he is also a talent scout, Gino Di Maggio is guided by the friendships he has developed over the years with artists. His choices also reflect his travels and show the richness of the movements that inspired him: Fluxus (Europe and USA), New Realism (France), poster artists, Asian precursors with Mono-ha (Japan and Korea) and Gutai (Japan). Of course Italy is not absent. And, thanks to Gino Di Maggio, we discover a history of Italian twentieth century art, often masked by the success of Arte Povera, with Cinetism and Italian Pop art.
Featured artists: Arthur Aeschbacher · Eric Andersen · Arman · Nanni Balestrini · Roberto Barni · Gianfranco Baruchello · Ben (Benjamin Vautier) · Gianni Bertini · Alighiero Boetti · George Brecht · John Cage · César · Giuseppe Chiari · Philip Corner · Sergio Dangelo · Marcel Duchamp · François Dufrêne · Koji Enokura · Erró · Esther Ferrer · Robert Filliou · Lucio Fontana · Fabrizio Garghetti · Patrizia Guerresi · Raymond Hains · Noriyuki Haraguchi · Toshimitsu Imaï · Joe Jones · Allan Kaprow · Milan Knížák · Susumu Koshimizu · Jean-Jacques Lebel . Daniele Lombardi · Sergio Lombardo · Uliano Lucas · George Maciunas · Renato Mambor · Piero Manzoni · Walter Marchetti · Livio Marzot · Giuliano Mauri · Charlotte Moorman · Angela Occhipinti · Yoko Ono · Nam June Paik · Antonio Paradiso · Ben Patterson · Marinella Pirelli · Renato Ranaldi · Man Ray · Mimmo Rotella · Lei Saito · Takako Saito · Nobuo Sekine · Carolee Schneemann · Kazuo Shiraga · Turi Simeti · Gianni Emilio Simonetti · Giuseppe Spagnulo · Daniel Spoerri · Fausta Squatriti · Mauro Staccioli · Studio Azzurro · Berty Skuber · Kishio Suga · Noboru Takayama · Atsuko Tanaka · Lee Ufan · Grazia Varisco · Jacques Villeglé · Nanda Vigo · Wolf Vostell · Robert Watts · Katsuro Yoshida | Manifestes futuristes