GNAMC Director Mazzantini Eyes US Collaborations After California Trip

Renata Cristina Mazzantini, director of the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea (GNAMC) in Rome, is looking to expand the museum's international reach following a trip to California. In an interview with art historian and curator Gabriele Simongini, published in Il Tempo, Mazzantini discussed her visits to Los Angeles and Silicon Valley, where she observed a museum model heavily reliant on private and philanthropic support. Among the institutions she visited were the MOCA in Los Angeles, whose history of artist and private donations impressed her, and the Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation, which houses works by Picasso, Giacometti, Henry Moore, Clyfford Still, Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, and David Hockney. Mazzantini also met with artists Kenny Scharf and Mark Bradford, visiting Scharf's studio and discussing potential exhibition projects for Rome. Scharf, associated with the 1980s East Village scene and figures like Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring, and Bradford, known for his collage-décollage technique, are both considered for future initiatives. The trip is part of a broader strategy to position GNAMC within an international network, connecting visual arts, design, and new cultural experiences. The museum aims to strengthen its role in contemporary art discourse, and these California connections could lead to significant projects in Rome's Valle Giulia district.