Galleria Blu: the history
(Traduzione a cura di Grazia Musumeci)
Set
up on April 27th, 1957, the Galleria Blu immediately shows interest in
the postwar avant-garde and struggles for its success by organizing
one-artist exhibitions as those of Appel (1961), Burri
(1958),
S.Delaunay (1976), Dubuffet (1960), Fontana (1964), Gorky (1964),
Hartung (1958), Klein (1969), Kupka (1979), Manzoni (1970), Matta
(1966), Michaux (1960), Moholy-Nagy (1962), Schumacher (1962), Vedova
(1960), Wols (1960).
Special importance has been given -in advance- to the "historical
avant-garde", just to mention some of the most important exhibitions,
as: "Futurballa" (1959), Severini (1963), Depero (1965) e "Omaggio a
Boccioni" (1966).
Galleria
Blu was the first one to house, in world exclusive, Burri (1959),
Vedova (1960) and Fontana (1957) to whom it dedicated an exhibition in
1999, on the occasion of the artist's centenary. The title was:
"Stasera inauguro la mia mostra da Palazzoli" (Tonight I open my
exhibition at Palazzoli's) after the name of one of Fontana's art works
celebrating his one-man exhibition at the Blu. To mention other
exclusive exhibitions: Santomaso (1984) e Bonalumi (1986).
Galleria Blu has also organized a series of historical exhibitions,
among which we mention those of artists as Sutherland (1958), Soldati
(1958), Bissier (1962), Ernst (1965), Agnetti (1971), Fautrier (1973),
Isgrò (1974), Feininger (1974), Hockney (1977), Dine (1977)
Lichtenstein (1977), Kounellis (1978), Kandinsky (1983), Braque (1984),
Tancredi (1985), Manzoni (1988), Santomaso (1990), Dubuffet (1994),
Wols (1994), Klee (1995), Picasso (1996), Schwitters (1996).
We also like to mention: "Quarantanni in Blu" (Forty years in
Blu),
a group exhibition to celebrate the 40th year of activity of Galleria
Blu with the works by artists who exhibited in exclusive(1997),
Chadwick(1998), Schultze(1998), "Fuoco Sacro"(Holy Fire), group
exhibition with works by Dubuffet, Ernst, Licini, Mirò, Gorky and
others(1999), Herbert Hamak(1999), Veronesi(1999), "La scultura Lingua
morta?" (Sculpture, a dead language?), with works by Arp, Chillida,
Giacometti, Manzù, Moore, Marini, Melotti, Nevelson, Wildt and
others(1999).
In year 2000 one-man exhibitions of Max Ernst and Giuseppe Santomaso;
in 2001 "Quarantaquattro Blu", the exhibition that celebrated 44 years
of activity of the gallery with works by Chagall, Picasso, Fontana and
other famous names of the 20th century plus a one-man exhibition of
Alberto Burri titled "Burri & Palazzoli - the Holy Alliance".
In
2002 the exhibition "i 4 Blu", was dedicated to Klee, Kandinsky,
Feininger e Jawlensky , while "Sensorialità e astrazione" (Sensority
& Abstraction) showed the one-man exhibition by
Agostino
Bonalumi and "L'esercizio della libertà" (Practice of
Freedom),
one-man exhibition by Gastone Novelli.
In
2003 "Out of the Blu - Picasso, Nicholson and more": a group exhibition
including not only the names of famous "maestri" but also new artists,
"Getting blu" was a selection of recent works by nine modern artists,
both italians and foreigners: Marc Ash, Paolo Biassoni, Roberto Coda
Zabetta, Federico Guida, Eckhard Kremers, Davide Nido, Egle Reggio,
Lorenz Spring, Alberto Zamboni and, starting from October 14th, 2003
on: "Lynn Chadwick", one-man exhibition dedicated to the sculptor who
passed away in 2003.
From April to late June 2004, the exhibition: "Klee-Santomaso:
Observers of sense", from September 27th to November 10th: "Bissier
Nicholson, To the Absolute" and, from November 2004 to March 2005:
"Legami: Ascendenze Elettive" (Bonds: Elective Ascendants), a distance
comparison between modern artists and "maestri" of the 20th century,
under the sponsorship of the Sport and Youth field
of
Milan's municipal authority.
In
2005 the exhibition "Legami: Ascendenze Elettive" continues, then, from
April to July, the one-man exhibition by Otto Dix: "Otto Dix - 16 water
colour paintings for Ursus" will be housed and, from October 4th, 2005,
the exhibition: "Agostino Bonalumi: Extroversion from canvas to
sculpture".
In 2006 from february to april the exhibition: "Apollo e Dioniso - A
possibile reconciliation", with works by Burri, Dubuffet, Fautrier,
Fontana, Twombly, Tancredi, Vedova and other artists of the informal
art, from may to july : "Colour and geometry - Italian
historical
abstractionism" and from october to december: "Davide Nido - Coriandoli
e Tutto (Confetti and Everything)".
In 2007 from February 13th to April 27th: "Per una storia della pittura
- Da Boccioni a Duchamp"(An history of painting - from Boccioni to
Duchamp) , with works by Archipenko, Wols, Feininger, Ernst, Picasso,
Nolde, Robert Delaunay, Sonia Delaunay, Klee, Kandinsky, Jawlensky,
Schwitters, Dix, Braque, Balla, Boccioni, Tanguy, Morandi, Giacometti,
Duchamp, Schiele and Magritte.
From May 7th to July 17th: "Per una storia dell'arte - Da
Klein a
oggi" (An history of the Art - from Klein to nowadays), works by
Pollock, Chadwick, Dubuffet, Fautrier, Klein, Hartung, Jason Martin,
Tapies, Afro, Burri, Fontana, Gallizio, Manzoni, Novelli, Gaetano
Pesce, Santomaso, Tancredi, Vedova, Agostino Bonalumi, Sandro Martini,
Shusaku Arakawa, Emilio Isgrò, Vincenzo Ferrari, Vincenzo Agnetti,
Roberto Coda Zabetta, Federico Guida, Davide Nido and Alessandro Verdi.
From September 25th to November 9th: "Lynn Chadwick", the seventh
one-man exhibition the gallery dedicates to this artist.
From November 20th, 2007 to January 12th, 2008: "Vincenzo Ferrari -
Carte d'identità (recenti)" (Vincenzo Ferrari - [recent] Identity
Cards).
From May 20th to July 4th 2008: "Claudio Costa - Dove è l'alto? Dove è
il basso?" (Claudio Costa - Where is up and where is down?).