From 14 April to 14 July 2024 the National Galleries of Ancient Art, in collaboration with the Aïshti Foundation of Beirut, present the exhibition Night Effect: New American Realism, curated by Massimiliano Gioni and Flaminia Gennari Santori.
The exhibition takes its title from a work by New York artist Lorna Simpson. Day For Night
Which in Italian translates to “Night Effect” – is a cinematic trick that allows you to film night scenes during the day. The title was made famous by a film by Francois Truffaut from 1973: in French the night effect is called "Nuit Américaine", the American night - an image that is well suited to the chiaroscuro visions of these artists who in recent decades have captured the reality of America in all its complexity.
New American Realism
The exhibition displays works by emerging artists alongside the work of important predecessors who anticipated recent ones reflections on the concept of realism and representation. This reflection on realism finds an original and extraordinary location in the National Galleries of Ancient Art which bring together the largest collection in the world of Caravaggio's paintings, that is, works by artists who, for the first time and on a European scale, aspire to a naturalistic representation of reality.
Palazzo Barberini will thus host a selection of works by artists active in the United States – including Cecily Brown, George Condo, Nicole Eisenman, Urs Fischer, Wade Guyton, Julie Mehretu, Richard Prince, Charles Ray, David Salle, Dana Schutz, Cindy Sherman, Lorna Simpson, Henry Taylor, Christopher Wool and many others – whose work deals with the crucial issue of realism and the representation of truth.
The exhibition itinerary
The itinerary begins in the twelve rooms of the Exhibition Space on the ground floor and continues in the most emblematic spaces of the museum, finally concluding in the so-called Eighteenth-Century Apartment, a rococo interior unique in Rome, on the second floor of Palazzo Barberini, which on the occasion of the exhibition will be opened to the public on a continuous basis for the first time. Between baroque interiors and monumental spaces, the exhibition represents a unique opportunity to learn about and explore the most recent developments in art in the United States – seen through one of the most important collections of recent decades.
EXHIBITION: Night Effect: New American Realism
CURATORS: Massimiliano Gioni and Flaminia Gennari Santori
VENUE: Palazzo Barberini, via delle Quattro Fontane 13, Rome
OPENING TO THE PUBLIC: 14 April – 14 July 2024
HOURS: Tuesday – Sunday, 10.00 – 19.00. Last entry at 18.00 pm.
CLOSING DAY: Monday
FREE ENTRY DAYS: First Sunday of the month
