Archivio Regina Cassolo Bracchi: preserving the legacy of a Futurist pioneer

The Archivio Regina Cassolo Bracchi has been established in Milan to preserve and promote the work of the Italian avant-garde sculptor Regina Cassolo Bracchi (1894–1974). Founded by collectors Gaetano and Zoe Fermani with scientific support from Paolo Campiglio, Chiara Gatti, and Lorenzo Giusti, the archive aims to study, catalog, and certify her oeuvre, including the creation of a catalogue raisonné. Cassolo Bracchi was a Futurist who later embraced radical abstraction, known for pioneering the use of experimental materials like tin, sandpaper, plexiglass, perspex, and rhodoid, and for creating floating geometric sculptures. Despite her contributions, she was largely forgotten, overshadowed by male Futurists even though her name appeared on the 1934 Futurist Manifesto. She was admired by André Breton and Léonce Rosenberg, who offered her a contract in 1937, which she declined to return to Italy. Recent recognition includes a major retrospective at GAMeC Bergamo in 2021, acquisitions by the Centre Pompidou, and participation in the 2022 Venice Biennale. Upcoming events include a dedicated room at the Centre Pompidou's new installation focusing on the MAC group and its ties to the French group Espace, featuring her works. Additionally, a monograph titled "Fragments of Totality" on modern Italian sculpture, edited by Alessandro Giammei and Ara Merjian, is being published by Yale University Press.