When Italian contemporary art meets China

The poster shows the 16th Art Quadriennale, the only institutional exhibition devoted to contemporary Italian art. It will be held at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome from mid October to next January. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

After eight-year hiatus, the Art Quadriennale, the only institutional exhibition devoted to contemporary Italian art, will return to the Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome from mid October to next January. And the Italians have targeted China as the first stop on their world promotional tour.

The promotional event for the upcoming 16th Art Quadriennale, with the theme "Altri tempi, altri miti" (Other times, other myths), was held at the Embassy of Italy in Beijing on Monday. Due to a shortage in government funds, the contemporary art exhibition had been suspended for the past eight years. As such, its revival also marks the start of a new form of public-private partnership based on specific ad hoc projects.

"We choose China because it has long history and profound cultural heritage. Therefore, we believe Chinese people have the capabilities to understand more about Italian contemporary art," said Ettore Francesco Sequi, Ambassador of Italy to China, whilst addressing guests at the promotional event.

"I believe the influence of Chinese contemporary art has now exceeded that of any other countries around the world." said Franco Bernabè, President of Foundation for the Art Quadriennale. "But when talking about Italian art, people usually refers to our ancient art works instead of the modern ones."

Mr Bernabè, who is also serving as PetroChina's non-executive director, says he has witnessed the burgeoning of Chinese contemporary art throughout the decade.

This year's exhibition aims to map out contemporary visual art in Italy, featuring ten exhibition sections developed by 11 curators and 99 artists, and boasting 150 artworks. It is estimated that half a million global tourists will come to enjoy the latest and most influential collection of contemporary visual arts in the Italian capital city.

"In recent years, we have seen a strong movement of Italian art works into China; but there are still not many Chinese counterparts entering Italy. So, I hope to act as a bridge between artists in both countries," Mr Bernabe said, determined to expand the global influence of Italian contemporary art.