2023 Season Press Release

Cold Spring, New York | February 15, 2023 — Magazzino Italian Art is pleased to announce a new slate of programs for the upcoming year. The calendar will highlight a program series curated by Ilaria Conti on diversity in art and culture across Italy and the United States, a lecture series on new scholarship in the study of the Arte Povera movement curated by Roberta Minnucci, Magazzino Italian Art 2022-23 Scholar-in-Residence, a project by Arcangelo Sassolino in collaboration with The Art Newspaper, a cross-genre concert by Jog Blues, and the sixth iteration of the Cinema in Piazza film series presented in partnership with the Cold Spring Film Society and Artecinema, Naples. Magazzino’s summer programs will culminate in the September opening of the museum’s second building: the Robert Olnick Pavilion.

The Robert Olnick Pavilion is designed by the renowned Spanish architects Alberto Campo Baeza and Miguel Quismondo. The pavilion will expand the extensive facilities of the main building, providing an additional 13,000 square feet of exhibition space, a wing devoted to decorative arts, ceramics and jewelry, a multipurpose room with auditorium capabilities, and a combined cafe and bookshop on the mezzanine.

“Giorgio and I are thrilled to be opening the Robert Olnick Pavilion in September. Named after my father, who instilled in me the imperative value of giving back, the new space will allow for unique temporary exhibitions of Italian art and design, a much needed Educational Center and an authentic Italian Cafe that will better serve our beloved Hudson Valley community. We feel privileged to be able to honor my father's legacy in this way, and to continue to share our passion and enthusiasm for Italian art and culture." — Nancy Olnick and Giorgio Spanu

Magazzino Italian Art will present two inaugural exhibitions and a special project in the new pavilion about Mario Schifano, Carlo Scarpa, and Ettore Spalletti. The Mario Schifano exhibition will be curated by Alberto Salvadori and presented in partnership with the Archivio Mario Schifano, Rome. The 70 works on view will offer a comprehensive survey of Schifano’s work since the 1960s. The Carlo Scarpa exhibition will be curated by Marino Barovier and feature a selection of Murano glass designed by artist Carlo Scarpa. The Ettore Spalletti project is conceived by Fondazione Ettore Spalletti, Benedetta Spalletti, and Alberto Salvadori in collaboration with the architect Alberto Campo Baeza. The special project will present large-scale artworks designed to activate and frame the surrounding architecture and natural light. Expanding public programs into the new space, the museum will host three study days at the pavilion dedicated to Mario Schifano, Carlo Scarpa, and Ettore Spalletti.

This year marks a milestone for Magazzino with the opening of the Robert Olnick Pavilion, allowing the museum to host more temporary exhibitions, expand educational initiatives for younger visitors, and continue to offer a wide range of both indoor and outdoor events across both spaces on campus. Magazzino's programming leading up to the opening of the Robert Olnick Pavilion in the fall will include important collaborations with international artists and institutions to highlight the diversity of Italian culture, not just in its visual identity, but also in the realms of music, film, research, and performance. The museum’s community has been growing since the opening in 2017 and Magazzino is excited to build an even larger platform to welcome everyone to the newly expanded campus.

2023 Program Dates

Pensiero Plurale
Present Memories: On the Politics of Image-Making
February 25, 2023
Magazzino Italian Art

In conjunction with Black History Month, Magazzino presentes Present Memories: On the Politics of Image-Making, the fourth iteration of Pensiero Plurale, a series of programs conceived and curated by Ilaria Conti centered on issues of cultural and social justice, intersectional thinking, and the arts across Italy and the United States.

Present Memories explores the politics behind some of the incomplete or fictitious narratives that continue to shape historical memories and present-day identities in connection to Italy. The invited speakers will discuss strategies to question and critically rethink such processes of knowledge-formation through visual and material culture.

Dawit L. Petros in conversation with Teresa Fiore | 12:00 p.m.

Lunch | 1:15 p.m.

Mistura Allison | 2:15 p.m.

The program will begin with a presentation on the work of Dawit L. Petros, an artist whose practice addresses the Italian colonial experience in the Horn of Africa, technological and cultural notions of modernity, and the triangulated relationship between European, African, and North American mobilities. The artist’s talk will be followed by a conversation between Petros and Teresa Fiore, a scholar whose research focuses on Italian colonial legacies, transnational migrations, and spatial politics. After the conversation and lunch, Mistura Allison, an independent researcher, curator and, art historian, will present an experimental talk, engaging multi-sensory documentation through the conceptual framework of parallel gazing and introducing praise poetry (oríkì) as a methodology and concept under construction as well as a tool for visual analysis.

Arte Povera: Artistic Tradition and Transatlantic Dialogue
March 18­­–April 30, 2023
Magazzino Italian Art

The fifth annual spring lecture series brings together some of the leading scholars of Arte Povera who present new perspectives on postwar Italian art. The 2023 Lecture Series, curated by Dr. Roberta Minnucci, Magazzino’s 2022-23 Scholar-in-Residence, will address research topics which are strictly interconnected with Arte Povera’s relationship with the past and its artistic exchanges with the United States. Participants for the 2023 season will feature Dr. Laura Petican, Dr. Marin R. Sullivan, Dr. Raffaele Bedarida, and Dr. Roberta Minnucci.

Contributions from the selected scholars will shed light on crucial aspects of postwar Italian art including: the legacy of the Baroque and the influence of the Italian artistic tradition on more recent practices (Dr. Laura Petican, Independent scholar); the role exhibitions of Italian art in the U.S. had in influencing the way Italian art was interpreted at home (Dr. Raffaele Bedarida, Associate Professor of History of Art at the Cooper Union, New York); sculptural projects made by foreign and Italian artists during the 1960s and 1970s (Dr. Marin R. Sullivan, Lecturer, Department of History of Art and Architecture DePaul University, Chicago); the reinterpretation of classical antiquity and art history in Arte Povera (Dr. Roberta Minnucci, art historian specializing in Italian art of the 1960s and 1970s, with a PhD from the University of Nottingham).

Lecture #1
Dr. Marin R. Sullivan, Lecturer, Department of History of Art and Architecture DePaul University, Chicago
March 18, 2023 l 12:00 p.m.

Dr. Marin R. Sullivan’s lecture will focus on a selection of sculptural projects made by foreign and Italian artists during the 1960s and 1970s as a means to examine how the terms of sculpture were being transformed through transatlantic exchanges.

Lecture #2
Dr. Roberta Minnucci, Magazzino Italian Art 2022-23 Scholar-in-Residence
April 1, 2023 l 12:00 p.m.

Dr. Roberta Minnucci’s presentation will investigate the reinterpretation of classical statuary in Arte Povera by examining how some artists in particular – namely Jannis Kounellis, Giulio Paolini and Michelangelo Pistoletto – engaged with sculptural materiality and figuration while exploring the layered temporalities of the work of art.

Lecture #3
Dr. Laura Petican, Independent scholar
April 15, 2023 l 12:00 p.m.

Dr. Laura Petican’s lecture will examine Arte Povera’s relationship with the Baroque as a historical and conceptual category, shedding light on Arte Povera's relation to national identity, cultural heritage, and art historical narratives.

Lecture #4
Dr. Raffaele Bedarida, Associate Professor of History of Art at the Cooper Union, New York
April 30, 2023 l 12:00 p.m.

Dr. Raffaele Bedarida’s lecture will focus on the promotion and reception of Arte Povera in the U.S., investigating how this process contributed to shape Arte Povera’s Italian identity within an international context.

Arcangelo Sassolino: A Project in Collaboration with The Art Newspaper
May 13, 2023
Magazzino Italian Art

This talk and presentation, in collaboration with The Art Newspaper, will present the work of artist Arcangelo Sassolino whose sculptures and installations explore mechanical behaviors and properties of force. The event, culminating in a lunch, will feature curators and critics including Chiara Parisi, Hans Ulrich Obrist, and Francesco Manacorda, and both indoor and outdoor sculptures and installations on loan to Magazzino.

Artists' Writings: The Case of Salvo and Barbara T. Smith
May 24, 2023
Online Event

On the occasion of the publication of IO SONO SALVO (NERO Editions, 2023), Lisa Andreani, member of the Archivio Salvo, will be in dialogue with Pietro Rigolo, Associate Curator at the Getty Research Institute and co-editor of the newly published memoir of performance artist Barbara T. Smith (The Way to Be, Getty Research Institute 2023). The conversation will focus on artists' autobiographical writings and their significance, and will be moderated by Magazzino Italian Art 2022-23 Scholar-in-Residence Roberta Minnucci. This project is supported by the Italian Council (10th edition, 2021), a program to promote Italian contemporary art in the world by the Directorate-General for Contemporary Creativity of the Italian Ministry of Culture.

Jog Blues
June 10, 2023
Magazzino Italian Art, Courtyard

The second iteration of the Jog Blues concert at Magazzino will bring together masters of jazz, blues, and Indian classical music in a 21st-century mix; creating an experience drawing from deep traditions while also swinging towards the future. The band, featuring Andy Biskin (clarinet, bass clarinet), Ikhlaq Hussain (sitar), Jake Charkey (cello), Joel Bluestein (electric guitar), Jonathan Rose (bass, harmonica), Mir Naqibul Islam (tabla), and Siddartha Mukherjee (vocals), is named after the Indian midnight raga and the blues.

Cinema in Piazza
July 22-23, 2023 | August 18-20, 2023
Magazzino Italian Art, Courtyard

Cinema in Piazza is the sixth iteration of Magazzino Italian Art’s annual outdoor film series, presented in partnership with the Cold Spring Film Society and Artecinema, Naples, coinciding with Upstate Art Weekend. Each screening will feature a speaker related to the film program—speakers to be announced later this spring.

Robert Olnick Pavilion Opening
September 2023

Designed by architects Alberto Campo Baeza and Miguel Quismondo, the pavilion will expand the extensive facilities of the main building, providing an additional 13,000 square feet of exhibition space, a wing devoted to decorative arts, ceramics and jewelry, a multipurpose room with auditorium capabilities, and a combined cafe and bookshop on the mezzanine. Magazzino Italian Art will present two inaugural exhibitions and a special project in the new pavilion about Mario Schifano, Carlo Scarpa, and Ettore Spalletti.

Mario Schifano
September 2023
Robert Olnick Pavilion

On the occasion of the inauguration of the Robert Olnick Pavilion in September 2023, Magazzino Italian Art will open an exhibition dedicated to the Italian artist Mario Schifano, presented in partnership with the Archivio Mario Schifano, Rome and the participation of several important private collections. The solo exhibition, curated by Alberto Salvadori, will shed light on one of Italy’s most significant artists.

Ettore Spalletti
September 2023
Robert Olnick Pavilion

This project, dedicated to the work of Ettore Spalletti, has been conceived and organized in close collaboration with the artist’s Estate on the occasion of the opening of the Robert Olnick Pavilion. The exhibition is organized by Magazzino Italian Art, curated by Fondazione Ettore Spalletti with architecture project by Studio Alberto Campo Baeza. The special project emerges from a deep dialogue with the architectural space: it will feature four large works installed in a room designed to take in natural light in a unique way, dynamically framing the pieces on view.

Carlo Scarpa
September 2023
Robert Olnick Pavilion

A selection of Murano glass designed by Carlo Scarpa from the Olnick Spanu Collection will be on display in the design gallery of the Robert Olnick Pavilion and will be curated by Marino Barovier.

Arte Povera
September 2023
Magazzino Italian Art

A new display of the works from the Olnick Spanu Collection will also extend to all the galleries of the warehouse building via an annual rehanging, with a focus on the work of Michelangelo Pistoletto. Artists from the Olnick Spanu Collection include Giovanni Anselmo, Alighiero Boetti, Pier Paolo Calzolari, Luciano Fabro, Jannis Kounellis, Marisa Merz, Mario Merz, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Giuseppe Penone, Pino Pascali, Giulio Paolini, and Gilberto Zorio.

Carlo Scarpa Study Day
Robert Olnick Pavilion

This Study Day will include a selection of presentations and conversations in conjunction with the exhibition on Carla Scarpa’s Murano glass from the Olnick Spanu Collection.

Ettore Spalletti Study Day
Robert Olnick Pavilion

This Study Day will include a selection of presentations and conversations in conjunction with the special project dedicated to Ettore Spalletti in the Robert Olnick Pavilion.

Mario Schifano Study Day
Robert Olnick Pavilion

The Study Day will include a selection of presentations and conversations in conjunction with the Mario Schifano exhibition in the Robert Olnick Pavilion.

About Magazzino Italian Art

Located in Cold Spring, New York, Magazzino Italian Art is a museum and research center dedicated to advancing scholarship and public appreciation of postwar and contemporary Italian art in the United States. The nonprofit museum serves as an advocate for Italian artists as it celebrates the range of their creative practices from Arte Povera to the present. Through its curatorial, scholarly, and public initiatives, Magazzino explores the impact and enduring resonances of Italian art on a global level.

Meaning “warehouse” in Italian, Magazzino was co-founded by Nancy Olnick and Giorgio Spanu. The 20,000 square-foot museum, designed by Spanish architect Miguel Quismondo, opened its doors in 2017, creating a new cultural hub and community resource within the Hudson Valley.

Admission is free to the public.

About The Robert Olnick Pavilion

Spanish architects Miguel Quismondo and Alberto Campo Baeza have collaborated to design the Robert Olnick Pavilion in the spirit of the existing Magazzino Italian Art building, which features more than 18,000 square feet of exhibition space as well as a library with more than 5,000 publications on Italian art. The new pavilion will add 13,000 square feet to the existing exhibition space and incorporate a room devoted to decorative arts, ceramics, and jewelry, alongside a multipurpose room with auditorium capabilities and a combined cafe and bookshop on the mezzanine. An Education Department will launch in 2023.

About Alberto Campo Baeza

Alberto Campo Baeza is an Emeritus Head Professor of Design in the Madrid School of Architecture, ETSAM, where he has been a tenured Professor for more than 35 years. He has taught at the ETH in Zürich and the EPFL in Lausanne, as well as the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Kansas State University, CUA University in Washington and L’Ecole d’Architecture in Tournai, Belgium. More recently, he has been named the Clarkson Chair of Architecture by Buffalo University and Walton Critic Speaker at the School of Architecture and Planning of CUA, the Catholic University of America in Washington. From 2018-2019 he was a visiting professor at the School of Architecture of Barcelona, ETSAB. From 2017 to 2020 he was Emeritus Head Professor of Design. In 2021 he taught as Visiting Professor at the New York Institute of Technology and won the National Prize for Architecture.

About Miguel Quismondo

Born and raised in Spain, Miguel attended the Polytechnic School in Madrid, where he graduated with a degree in Architecture. He also holds a Master’s degree in Real Estate Development from Columbia University, and another in Construction Management from NYU. He has previously worked for Perkins+Will and later collaborated with award-winning architect Alberto Campo Baeza in the design and construction of the Olnick Spanu House. In 2013, Quismondo founded MQ Architecture and later designed and built Magazzino Italian Art in Cold Spring, NY. Over the past decade, he has worked in several fields spanning from design, construction, and management. His work has been published in la Biennale di Venezia, Architectural Record, A+U, Domus and Casabella, among other magazines, and he has been recognized with several awards including an Honor in Architecture by AIA New York and the Dedalo Minosse International Prize. He recently started teaching Architecture at The New Jersey Institute of Technology.