Italian Man in Zocca Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/oil pastel/paper 27.5 x 28" 70 x 50cm 250.00
I never ceased to be amazed by certain aspects of Italy. Just when you’ve had it with creepy old men hanging about cafes, you’ll trip over a fantastic museum you never heard of. That was the case on Thursday: I found an interesting looking exhibit featured at the Collezione Maramotti, in Reggio Emilia: Andriu Deplazes “Burning Green”. It was an odd sort of museum website I was led to. The museum was free, but you had to make a reservation. You could sign up to visit the whole museum (after 3) or just part of it; I never saw how to sign up for the special exhibit. In the end it all worked out beautifully – we saw the show, and heard, in English, about how the museum came about. We wandered around on our own after that brief introduction, and it was perfect.
Woman at the Zocca Market Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/oil pastel/paper 27.5 x 20" 70 x 50cm 250.00
Maramotti is a museum which occupies the former Max Mara factory building, renovated to accept the work collected by the Maramotti family since about 1950. It is SO contemporary – and one piece leads to another and another. It was TERRIFIC. EXTRAORDINARY. And nearby, scarcely an hour from our Roccamalatina house.
I am amazed at how many wonderful museums are situated around that A1 corridor from Reggio Emilia to just past Parma: Rocca Magnani, Franco Maria Ricci’s Labyrinth and Museum, several assorted museums in Parma. It’s remarkable. These were mostly created as a legacy by brilliant Italian businessmen, like Maramotti. Maramotti himself was one of the richest men in Italy, with businesses employing more than 5,000 workers; and strong affiliations to banking.
On the way to Zocca: Flagman Laurie Fox Pessemier 14 x 10.5 35 x 27cm Acrylic/oil pastel/carnvas 475.00
His collections starts with modern pieces from the late 1940s. The majority is work by Italians, but there were also works by David Salle, Alex Katz, Basquiat, Baselitz… I really liked the work of Sandro Chia, which I’d not seen before. There were rooms of complete discovery, and I look forward to bringing visitors there in future.
We loved the exhibit we came to see – the Artist used near-neon cadmium reds and cerulean blues to create works, involving people and animals, that all looked like they were painted in the early evening light: crepuscule.
Painting by Andrui Deplazes at the Collezione Maramotti
The woman at the desk of the museum was most helpful, and seemed glad we were there. In the end, she asked us what we liked. It made me think that this really is the Perfect Museum.
Underripe Pomegranates (Grenadines (FR) Melagrani (IT) isn't it amazing the name could be that different?) Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/oil pastel/paper 27.50 x 28" 50 x 70cm 250.00
INVITING All Artists to present their Work: Paint, Literature, Crafts, Food....
Pessemier's Sunday Salon Weekly on Sunday No Reservation Necessary
How it works: Bring a piece of your ART: that could be visual, like painting or printmaking; or literary, as in poetry or prose; or crafts, like metalwork or knitting; or food, or music. Something you made, or feel particularly inspired by. You have about 5 minutes to present, and we'll ooh, ahh, or answer questions you have. You can also come and see how we work before diving in. Just show up on Zoom at a minute or two before the hour. No selling, no networking until after everyone has presented.
