Bologna Celebrates Salvatore Nocera with First Solo Exhibition a Decade After His Death

Ten years after his death, Bologna finally honors native son Salvatore Nocera (1928–2008) with his first solo show in the city, "Un decennio di ritardo" (A Decade Late), at Palazzo d'Accursio from May 21 to July 23, 2017. Curated by Elisa Del Prete, the exhibition brings together 40 paintings, 30 drawings, and several writings spanning the 1940s to the 1990s. Nocera, a reclusive artist who often destroyed his own works, studied under Virgilio Guidi and was admired by critic Francesco Arcangeli. His influences range from Cosmé Tura to Jean Fautrier and Antoni Tapies. The show includes early figurative works, large informal canvases, and later naturalist pieces, plus a small wax sculpture. Nocera's library of over 8,000 volumes will be donated to the Biblioteca dell'Archiginnasio, and his works are being acquired by MAMbo and MAGI'900. Despite his ambivalent relationship with Bologna—he felt the city was unwelcoming—the exhibition seeks to restore his place in art history. The title quotes his notebook: "I have always been at least a decade late."