“Atelier Pozzati”
11 March – 17 April 2016
Artists: Alessandra Andrini, Sergia Avveduti, Bertozzi & Casoni, Pierpaolo
Campanini, Paolo Chiasera, Cristian Chironi, Cuoghi Corsello, Marco Di
Giovanni, Maurizio Finotto, Lino Frongia, Omar Galliani, Eva Marisaldi,
Andrea Nacciarriti, Alessandro Pessoli, Concetto Pozzati, Leonardo Pivi, Sissi
Curated by: Antonio Grulli
Opening hours: Friday to Sunday, 15h30 – 19h30 and by appointment
Autostazione di Bologna – primo piano
Piazza XX Settembre 6, Bologna
https://www.facebook.com/Caravan-SetUp-1679444752290775/
What can happen when an artist stays for nearly 30 years with generations of art students at an Academy of Fine Arts and it is the occasion of his 80th birthday? Nothing is for sure, that depends on the personalities and the circumstances. But if the teaching artist is the painter Concetto Pozzati the preconditions are good.
As it happened in these days in Bologna, Italy, two former students of the Accademia di Belle Arti (Academy of Fine Arts) in the class of Concetto Pozzati wanted to honour their teacher. By accident, or not, Alice Zannoni and Simona Gavioli are the founders of the SetUp Contemporay Art Fair at the Autostazione di Bologna (coach station of Bologna). Together with Giulia Giliberti they initiated as well the Caravan SetUp. This association has the will to make the mostly abandoned administrative offices of the Autostazione a space inhabited by culture, not only for the time of the SetUp Art Fair, but all the time of the year. A wonderful idea, especially because the building is by its location a central point in the European travel network (see the article “The SetUp Contemporary Artfair 2016”).
To realise the second project of the Caravan SetUp, they invited the curator Antonio Grulli to choose some art objects of the former students of Concetto Pozzati and create an exhibition: the “Atelier Pozzati”, supported by the communication agency Luis.it. The result is a mixed and varied show, with artists of miscellaneous fields of fine arts. It is a review of the last 30 years of Italian and international history of arts, because the first students started with Concetto Pozzati in 1976 and the last ones left the Academy with him in 2004. Lots of them are by now confirmed artists.
As heart of the exhibitions appears “Il presepe di Valdonica” first shown in 1982. This monumental painting (3 m x 10 m) was one of Pozzati’s several participations at the Biennale in Venice (1964, 1972, 1982, 2007 and 2009) and other international presences in Tokyo, Kassel, Paris and many more.
Nonetheless the Maestro Pozzati sees himself in his function as teacher like student among students. In consequence his name is listed within the alphabetical order on the announcement poster. For himself, his mission was to accompany his artistic companions to find their own way and intellectual independence. The outcomes of his scholarship are artists, which are characterized by their diversity and variety, in the used media and personal expression. In the exhibition there are paintings, sculptures, videos. The used materials are starting from classical oil on canvas to assemblages of everyday objects or special processed materials.
In addition, the differentiation of Pozzati’s education led to a multitude of life paths: A lot of his alumni have chosen the way into fine arts and are nationally and internationally successful; others became teachers themselves; another pursued a way more or less close to their initial artistic training. They are art critics, curators, writers, museum and theatre directors.
And Concetto Pozzati himself? He is happy to see the fruits of his work and to celebrate his 80th birthday surrounded by his former students and current colleagues.
