Unfaithful Memory (La memoria infedele): the seduction of images from de Chirico to Schifano

The exhibition "Unfaithful Memory. The seduction of images from De Chirico to Schifano" awaits you until 27 December 2022 in the splendid Sala dei Comuni of the Castello Estense.

An exhibition that will transport you into the postmodern climate of the second half of the twentieth century, where interest in the figurative arts is strongly renewed. Inside the Sala dei Comuni of the Castello Estense you will discover 12 precious works including paintings, works on paper and sculptures, endowed with such an evocative power that they are able to recount an important chapter in the art history of 20th century in Italy.
Postmodern artists were returning - after the banning by the avant-garde - to the images and techniques of the past, which were both a source of inspiration and understanding of a new historical phase pervaded by mass communication. A "return to the craft" brought about first and foremost by Giorgio de Chirico, who, ahead of his time, had already in 1916 advocated a vision of circular time, where past and future merge into an eternal present. But also by Mario Schifano, Remo Bianco and other protagonists of the artistic scene of the time.
The title of the exhibition was inspired by a work by Leonor Fini, entitled 'La memoria infedele' (The Unfaithful Memory), which is also on display in the exhibition. In the painting, a young man dressed in eighteenth-century clothing observes another painting by the author entitled 'Morning Twilight', which is dense with references to Renaissance, Baroque and Symbolist art. Observing the two paintings live, however, you can see how the work reproduced within the painting is not - and cannot be - entirely faithful to the original. A clear message from the artist. Recalling the past, even if it is near, always means changing its meaning. A position that underlines the critical, often desecrating and ironic detachment that characterises the retrospective gaze typical of postmodernism.
Nine of the twelve works that you will be able to admire belong to the rich private collection of Franco Farina - director of the Civica Galleria d'Arte Moderna and promoter of the exhibition centre of Palazzo dei Diamanti from the 1960s to the 1990s - which was donated to the city in 2019 by his widow, Lola Bonora.
The exhibition, realised by the Art Museums Service of the Municipality of Ferrara together with the Ferrara Arte Foundation and curated by Chiara Vorrasi, is sponsored by the Emilia-Romagna Region.