Carla Accardi and Dadamaino in First Joint Exhibition at Tornabuoni Paris

Tornabuoni Art in Paris is hosting 'Carla Accardi e Dadamaino: tra segno e trasparenza', the first-ever joint exhibition of the two Italian abstract artists, on view until September 18, 2021. Curated by Valérie Da Costa, the show brings together works from the 1950s and 1960s, highlighting their shared exploration of sign and transparency. The exhibition coincides with a broader rediscovery of female abstraction, as seen in recent shows at Museo del Novecento in Milan and the ongoing 'Elles font l'Abstraction' at Centre Pompidou (until August 23, 2021), to which Tornabuoni contributed loans. Da Costa notes that while studies on women artists have existed for years, society's changing view of women's roles is now accelerating recognition. The exhibition pairs Accardi (born 1924 in Trapani) and Dadamaino (born 1930 in Milan), both key figures in post-war Italian abstraction who developed unique calligraphic vocabularies on plastic supports. Their work also engaged with political and social activism, reflecting the cultural shifts of 1968. The accompanying catalog features essays by Da Costa, Margit Rowell, Jean-Pierre Criqui, and Elisabeth de Bertier, offering new interpretive frameworks. Da Costa hopes the show will inspire a major Italian museum exhibition on women in abstraction, noting that artists like Laura Grisi, Accardi, and Marisa Merz remain underrecognized in Italy despite international careers.