Futurism & Co Opens in Rome with Balla-Dorazio Show

A new gallery, Futurism & Co, has opened near Piazza di Spagna in Rome, dedicated to Italian Futurism and European avant-gardes. Its inaugural exhibition, 'Quello che ho imparato da Giacomo Balla' (What I Learned from Giacomo Balla), curated by Giancarlo Carpi, explores the influence of Futurist Giacomo Balla on abstract artist Piero Dorazio. The show features 26 works spanning from the late 1940s to the 1970s, including four 'compenetrazioni iridescenti' by Balla, two of his 'Rumoristica plastica Baltrr' pieces from 1914 and 1916 (formerly in the collection of Adolf Alfred Taubman, ex-owner of Sotheby's), and Dorazio's rare polychrome abstract composition 'Sviluppo orizzontale di una cornamusa dolcissima' (1948). Three letters from Dorazio to Achille Perilli about organizing Balla's 1954 New York exhibition are also on view. The gallery is an extension of the cultural association Futur-ism, founded in 2000 by collector Massimo Carpi. It is directed by Francesca Carpi and Alessandro Bolic, with support from Giancarlo Carpi. The program aims to highlight lesser-known Futurist artists and create original juxtapositions between historical and contemporary works.