ONCE AGAIN, LIGHT. LUIGI NERVO

GAM of Turin inaugurates at its Educational Area on the ground floor an exhibition on Luigi Nervo (Turin 1930 – 2006), conceived and organized by the GAM Education Department together with Circoscrizione 5 as part of the XXIII edition of Luci d’Artista promoted by the City of Turin.

The show is one of the events included in the third edition of the Incontri illuminanti con l’arte contemporanea project – promoted since 2018 by the City of Turin – titled this year as well Nuovi Equilibri. For this edition the learning-cultural activities in Incontri illuminati held at Circoscrizione 5 are dedicated to the work and figure of Luigi Nervo.

In addition to the GAM show, a second exhibition devoted to the master will be installed at the Centro Civico della Circoscrizione 5 on Via Stradella 186, in the neighborhood where Nervo worked and lived. Both exhibitions and a catalogue, published for the event, have been made possible thanks to funding from Circoscrizione.

For over twenty years during November, Turin has turned on its Luci d’Artista, installed in public spaces for the month dedicated to Contemporary Art. This is an event beloved by Turin’s inhabitants and a cultural project praised in Italy and abroad, and is, therefore, a symbol of the city itself. For the XXIII edition, at the proposal of the City of Turin, GAM has decided to renew its collaboration with Circoscrizione 5, with two exhibitions that showcase the work of Luigi Nervo, a key protagonist of the event.

An eclectic artist, Nervo began his career as an industrial designer. He later started experimenting with different art forms, ultimately discovering his love for wood. From his sculptures to the “machines-games” and “robots,” his works always bear a playful, fairy-tale-like component where a bond with nature is always present. Along with his celebrated Vento Solare, a cosmological light installation portraying the sun emitting multicolored rays, this year as part of Luci d’artista we find 1706, a commemorative monument to the battle in Turin installed in the heart of Lucento. It is precisely in this neighborhood where Nervo spent his childhood, and even today he is loved and praised by the locals for his great involvement in both art and education. Firmly believing in the importance of manual learning, over the course of his life he attempted to hand down his skills and values during the classes held at the Accademia Albertina and the workshops at the Margherita di Savoia elementary school and CADD (Disability Day Care Center) on Via Pianezza.

Research on this artist has shed light on many materials, sculptures, drawings, and documents concerning his involvement in local education and the original notebook of Vento Solare, another example of the artist’s predilection for manual skill.

All this afforded the opportunity to hold at GAM an exhibition-story, which draws attention to the figure of Luigi Nervo in the fields of art and education, and, in the rooms of the Centro Civico della Circoscrizione 5, to explore his many efforts locally in the final years of his life, as testified by his closest collaborators, CADD and the Gruppo di Volontariato civico Lucento.

The educational-cultural activities titled Naturalmente, to take place as part of Incontri illuminanti con l’arte contemporanea - Nuovi Equilibri, will include workshops for teachers and others held with the 13 classes of the Margherita di Savoia elementary school plus activities with the Centro Drop-in users at the Ospedale Amedeo di Savoia.

The museum has chosen to dedicate the exhibition to the esteemed former city councilor Fiorenzo Alfieri, who recently died in his beloved Turin. He was the creator of Luci d’Artista and a close friend of Nervo.

The learning and cultural activities across this area are enriched by the volume Ancora Luce. Luigi Nervo published thanks to the financial generosity of Circoscrizione 5; it is edited by GAM Education Department and published by Silvana Editoriale. The book includes around 30 images, writings that describe his experiences with teaching and Luci d’artista, plus an in-depth biography compiled by CDS5 – Centro Documentazione Storica della Circoscrizione 5.

 

GAM – GALLERIA CIVICA D’ARTE MODERNA E CONTEMPORANEA - Via Magenta, 31 - Turin
Hours: Wednesday and Thursday: 11 am – 7 pm; Friday 11 am – 8 pm
Closed Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday
Ticket office closes one hour earlier. www.gamtorino.it

CENTRO CIVICO DELLA CIRCOSCRIZIONE 5 – Via Stradella, 186 - Turin
Hours: Monday to Friday, 10 am ­– 6 pm

for info:

LUCI D’ARTISTA
PUBLIC PROGRAM - PROGETTO INCONTRI ILLUMINANTI CON L’ARTE CONTEMPORANEA
www.contemporarytorinopiemonte.it
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