‘A lecture on Martian history’, a ceramic wall piece by the Neapolitan artist, was set up in the entrance hall as part of the Farnesina Collection exhibition.
The new site specific work by Maurizio Cannavacciuolo at the Farnesina
Categories: Culture and creativity -Visual Arts
At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation it is possible to admire ‘A Lecture on Martian History’ (2021) by the artist Maurizio Cannavacciuolo. The work, in polychrome ceramic panels with a total surface area of about 15 meters, was realized in collaboration with the Faentine manufacturer ‘Ceramica Gatti’ and recently installed in the Entrance Hall of the Palazzo.
‘A Lecture on Martian history’ is one of the most important works in Maurizio Cannavacciuolo’s artistic career, an artist who was born in Naples in 1954 and has been active in Italy and internationally since the 1970s. In particular, the work – printed on a vinyl surface – was exhibited in 2016 on the façade of the ‘Isabella Stewart-Gardner’ Museum in Boston, on the occasion of the artist’s solo exhibition.
For the Farnesina Collection, the artist has created a site-specific version of this work, which takes up the eclectic and lively ornamental motifs which abound in Cannavacciuolo’s painting, along with the fantastic tale of the colonization of the Earth by the Martians. With his usual irony, the artist portrays a professor with many arms – a hybrid between a human and Martian – while presenting some scenes of post-invasion life on Earth to the ensuing generations of aliens.
For more information, go to collezionefarnesina.esteri.it
