Rome
International Exhibition of Sculpture
Billed as the first sculpture biennial in Rome, the original and very ambitious plan was to place contemporary artworks in many of the piazzas of a city celebrated for piazzas—if not for contemporary art (although that might change now with MACRO, MAXXI, and Gagosian). Many of these spaces are already occupied by destination art—one obvious instance is Bernini’s Fountain of the Four Rivers in Piazza Navona. It therefore seemed a great idea to site more recent works in the context of a public exhibition, alternating old and new, Italian and international, pegged to the Venice Biennale not so far away. However, due to bureaucratic snafus and other impediments, it was not to be, although the curators, Gloria Porcella and Lamberto Petrecca, are hopeful for the next edition, which they are already planning. This first exhibition, sponsored in part by Roma Capitale and the European Commission, was greatly curtailed, however, confined to the gardens of the Casina Valadier, located on the Pincio not far from the Villa Borghese, and the park of the Villa Torlonia, the residence of Mussolini from 1925–43—two storied (but in Rome, what isn’t) and popular gathering places for Romans and tourists. …see the entire review in the print version of March’s Sculpture magazine.
