Antonio Ligabue and Giuseppe Pende: Two Outsider Artists in Fermo

Palazzo dei Priori in Fermo, Italy, hosts two concurrent exhibitions curated by Vittorio Sgarbi, running until May 5, 2024. The first, "Spiriti selvaggi. Antonio Ligabue e l’eterna caccia," co-curated with Marzio Dall’Acqua, presents over 40 paintings by Antonio Ligabue, including two previously unseen works. The exhibition explores Ligabue's naïf style and his focus on wild animals in struggle, as well as portraits and self-portraits. The second exhibition, "Realtà, sogno e visione," is dedicated to Giuseppe Pende, a little-known painter from Puglia who adopted Fermo. It features works from 1930 to 2000, including still lifes, portraits, and landscapes. Sgarbi aims to rediscover Pende, who deliberately avoided the art market. The exhibitions are part of the broader project "Fermo. Il tempo delle mostre."