Dear La VOCE readers,
Welcome to the Center for Italian Modern Art biweekly column on La VOCE! This new feature, titled Slow Art, will take you to art exhibitions and happenings in New York and beyond, as seen through the eyes of CIMA’s staff, fellows, and interns, and will provide you with insights into the art world with a special focus on Italian art of the 20th century.
The Center for Italian Modern Art (CIMA) is a nonprofit organization that opened its doors in February 2014. Located in a loft in SoHo, we promote modern and contemporary Italian art, support new scholarship in the field, and foster cultural dialogue between Italy and US. Each academic year, we present one major exhibition, fund a number of emerging art historians of any nationality through our fellowship program, and offer a wide range of public programs.
CIMA’s exhibition space offers a unique and intimate approach to works of art that are often little known or rarely exhibited in the US. We believe in unhurried, close experiences with art—in other words, we are advocates for ‘slow art’! This is the key idea behind our installations, which run from October through June, giving both visitors and our scholars-in-residence the opportunity to enjoy prolonged contact with the artworks and to linger in our elegant residence-like space.
This is a legacy that our founder, Laura Mattioli—a Milanese art historian and collector— brought to New York through CIMA. She is in a way carrying a torch she received from her father, Gianni Mattioli, who was a major collector of Italian artists, including Giorgio Morandi, Amedeo Modigliani, Giorgio De Chirico, and the Futurists. Gianni Mattioli used to open his Milan apartment on Sunday afternoons to visitors; he himself would give the tours of his collection. In this same spirit, CIMA’s fellows welcome the public every Friday and Saturday, giving tours in small groups that allow for intimate interaction with the works and interesting discussion among the group.
Every other week, we will present remarkable exhibitions, interesting art historical facts, highlights on fascinating artworks, and much more! We hope you will enjoy this column and will join us at CIMA to experience in person what a fascinating and enriching experience ‘slow art’ is!
