Giorgio Morandi and Beyond: A Lugano Exhibition Connects the Master with His Admirers

Repetto Gallery in Lugano presents 'Giorgio Morandi and Beyond', a group exhibition curated by Maria Cristina Bandera that places the Bolognese master's meditative paintings in dialogue with 20th-century and contemporary artists. The show includes eleven paintings, ten etchings, and drawings by Morandi created between 1915 and 1963, alongside works by Pier Paolo Calzolari, Luigi Ghirri, and David Hockney. The exhibition honors gallery founder Aurelio Repetto, who first presented a Morandi show in Acqui Terme in 1981. Bandera's curatorial approach emphasizes Morandi's 'slow and meditated painting' characterized by modulated brushstrokes that shape volumes and spaces. The 'and Beyond' in the title, as explained by Carlo Repetto in the catalog, suggests a musical 'Theme and Variations' across generations. Ghirri's photographs of Morandi's studio are described by Bandera not as mere documentation but as an artist interpreting another artist. The exhibition explores Morandi's enduring influence, echoing his own words: 'I think there is nothing more surreal and nothing more abstract than reality.'