Fortunato Depero. Dall’arte di avanguardia a una nuova pubblicità
An exhibition of the Italian Consulate General in Miami and the Italian Cultural Institute organized by CMS.Cultura
March 7 – May 5 2024
Italian Cultural Institute, Miami
Fortunato Depero
Dall’arte di avanguardia a una nuova pubblicità
curated by Eduardo De Maio with Laura Mattioli
Fortunato Depero (1892-1960) was one of the most original Italian artists of 20th century. Gifted with inexhaustible curiosity and vivid imagination, Depero expressed his talent in multiple fields, from painting, sculpture, advertising and publishing to theater and mass media, throughout a career spanning almost half a century. Through artistic, graphic, and bibliographical material, the exhibition at the Italian Cultural Institute in Miami presents Depero’s talent through his achievements in graphic design-advertising from the early 1920s through the 1930s, a period that includes his significant first stay in New York in 1928-1930 with his wife and collaborator, Rosetta Amadori. It was during this time, thanks to the encounters with the emerging skyline of the Big Apple and its bustling avenues, that Depero assimilated invaluable cultural and visual stimuli, which he would express in his artistic creations over the following three decades.
This exhibition also aims to shed light on the relationship between Depero and two of his most relevant patrons and sponsors, the entrepreneurs Gianni Mattioli and Davide Campari. Mattioli, an important collector, was a great friend of Depero’s, supporting him both artistically and financially for much of his career. The farsighted Campari, on the other hand, relied on Depero to launch an avant-garde advertising campaign and the first single-serve aperitif, Campari Soda, for which the Futurist artist designed the iconic bottle, whose shape has defied time and remains unchanged to this day.
This exhibition presents the partnership with the Fondation Mattioli – Rossi, through three masterpieces, namely the painting Motorcyclist – A Solid in Speed (1923), the tapestry Nine Heads with Hats (1929-30), and a copy of Futurist Depero. Dynamo Azari or Bolted Book (1927), Depero’s true artistic and poetic manifesto, as well as an invaluable compendium of graphic solutions conceived by the Italian genius.
