Ettore Sottsass and Luigi Spazzapan: A Master-Student Bond in Gradisca d'Isonzo
An exhibition in Gradisca d'Isonzo pairs works by Luigi Spazzapan (1889–1958) and his former student Ettore Sottsass (1917–2007), highlighting their artistic friendship. Curated by Lorenzo Michelli and Vanja Strukelj, the show at the Galleria Regionale d’Arte Contemporanea Luigi Spazzapan features Spazzapan's paintings from the museum's collection alongside Sottsass's drawings from CSAC Parma. Sottsass attended Spazzapan's studio while studying architecture at Politecnico di Torino; early drawings from 1939–1940 are displayed with Spazzapan's large temperas, both showing Matissean influences. Sottsass later edited a 1946 volume on Spazzapan for Orma publishing, with an essay by Lionello Venturi, featuring 16 drawings made after Spazzapan's studio was destroyed by WWII bombings. The exhibition traces shared motifs like flowers and butterflies, and explores their mutual engagement with Futurist and informal abstraction. Spazzapan's advice to Sottsass on the freedom to create is a key theme.
Key facts
- Exhibition pairs Luigi Spazzapan and Ettore Sottsass in Gradisca d'Isonzo.
- Spazzapan (1889–1958) was a painter from Gradisca d'Isonzo; Sottsass (1917–2007) was a designer from Innsbruck.
- Curators: Lorenzo Michelli (conservator of the gallery) and Vanja Strukelj (co-curator).
- Spazzapan's works from the museum collection are shown with Sottsass's drawings from CSAC Parma.
- Sottsass attended Spazzapan's atelier while studying architecture at Politecnico di Torino.
- Early Sottsass drawings from 1939–1940 for interior architecture exams are displayed.
- In 1946, Sottsass edited a volume on Spazzapan for Orma publishing, with an essay by Lionello Venturi.
- Spazzapan's studio was destroyed by WWII bombings in Turin.
- Exhibition includes Sottsass's drawings inspired by Montenegrin weavings made while he was a soldier in the Balkans.
- Both artists explored Futurist and informal abstraction, with shared motifs like flowers and butterflies.
Entities
Artists
- Luigi Spazzapan
- Ettore Sottsass
- Lionello Venturi
- Henri Matisse
Institutions
- Galleria Regionale d’Arte Contemporanea Luigi Spazzapan
- CSAC Parma
- Politecnico di Torino
- Orma (publishing house)
- Artribune
Locations
- Gradisca d'Isonzo
- Italy
- Turin
- Innsbruck
- Austria
- Milan
- Parma
- Montenegro
- Balkans