The San Patrignano collection arrives at Maxxi in Rome. A big Vincenzo Muccioli, portrayed by Yan Pei Ming, he observes her and seems to give his approval. She is an iconic figure and she could not be missed but she is not cumbersome also because the visitor finds her behind her upon entering and discovers her after the splendid VBSS-002 (2006-2018) donated by the artist Vanessa Beecroft, a gift of love like the motherhood it portrays: white mother, black children united in diversity. There is also Michelangelo Pistoletto, a self-portrait (Between mirror and canvas, silkscreen on mirror polished stainless steel, 1988) donated by the author and by Maria Pistoletto. And many other important canvases exhibited for free in the Extra Maxxi space by the will of the San Petrignano Foundation.
The exhibition was recently inaugurated and will remain open until 7 October, the second stage after Milan of the itinerant presentation of the Collection which will be permanently exhibited in Rimini in 2019 when the new museum will be opened which the Municipality of the Romagna town, a stone's throw from the Community of recovery of San Patrignano, will open in the medieval palaces of the Arengo and the Podestà now undergoing restoration. From Milan to Rome, the exhibition has been enriched with new works. All have been donated to the Community in the 40th year since its foundation by collectors, galleries and the artists themselves.
“On the 40th anniversary of San Patrignano – explains the curator of the exhibition Clarice Pecori Girladi – we found ourselves faced with a double need: on the one hand, that of guaranteeing for another 40 years a project that welcomes 1.300 people completely free of charge, on the 'another the will to increase the share of self-support which today reaches 62% of the costs and comes out of the proceeds of the activities carried out in the Community'. Thus was born the project borrowed from the experience of American universities and the idea of creating what is called in English endowment funds, an endowment fund financed with donations to be used for withdrawals to support future structural investments.
“We first turned to the historical friends of San Patrignano and many have guaranteed donations: then, first the collectors, then the gallery owners and the artists themselves. So far we have collected 40 works”, explains Pecori Giraldi again. The project started a year ago in March from the Triennale in Milan and after Rome it should continue in 2019 in Naples and Turin. The works – on display you can admire artists such as Alessandro Busci, Giorgio Griffa, Agnes Martin, Davide Monaldi, Julian Schnabel, Sandro Chia, Ezo Cucchi and others besides the already mentioned Beecroft, Pistoletto and Yan Pei Ming – they will be valorised but cannot be sold before five years.
"We have embarked on the path of collecting contemporary works of art - underlines Letizia Moratti, co-founder of the San Patrignano Foundation - as a patrimonial reserve and involved artists, gallery owners and collectors who believed and believe in the project and who appreciate the work done by the Community. The works deal with the themes at the heart of the Community of San Patrignano: marginalization, social unease, hospitality, rebirth". The idea captured Giovanna Melandri: “The approach of artists and public and private institutions – affirms the president of Maxxi – proves once again to be a fertile choice to support and expand forward-looking cultural policies. From this point of view, Maxxi is an outpost that has been able to implement alternative projects”. The whole project was also realized thanks to the sponsors BMW and Intesa Sanpaolo.
Free admission – Hours: Tue-Wed-Thu-Fri-Sunday 11-19; Saturday 11am-22pm, closed on Mondays
