Hirte and Rantanen at Museo Pietro Canonica, Rome
The second season of Fortezzuola, a contemporary art review curated by Pier Paolo Pancotto at Museo Pietro Canonica in Rome, features German artist Benjamin Hirte (b. 1980, Aschaffenburg; lives in Vienna) and American artist Chadwick Rantanen (b. 1981, Wausau; lives in Los Angeles). The exhibition engages with the museum's historic context—the former home and studio of Belle Époque sculptor Pietro Canonica, set within Villa Borghese. Hirte installs enigmatic sculptural volumes and water games in crate-fountains, while Rantanen contributes mechanical birds. Their interventions subvert the bourgeois display spaces, offering a refreshing irreverence. In the residential part of the museum, interstitial installations among furnishings and ornaments redefine the public-private boundary, opening new spatial interpretations. The next Fortezzuola installment is scheduled for September with Denis Savary.
Key facts
- Fortezzuola is a contemporary art review started in 2016 at Museo Pietro Canonica, Rome.
- The second season is curated by Pier Paolo Pancotto.
- Artists Benjamin Hirte (German, b. 1980) and Chadwick Rantanen (American, b. 1981) are featured.
- Hirte lives in Vienna; Rantanen lives in Los Angeles.
- The museum is located in Villa Borghese, Rome, and was the home-studio of sculptor Pietro Canonica.
- Hirte's works include enigmatic sculptural volumes and crate-fountains with water games.
- Rantanen contributes mechanical birds.
- The next Fortezzuola exhibition in September will feature Denis Savary.
Entities
Artists
- Benjamin Hirte
- Chadwick Rantanen
- Pietro Canonica
- Pier Paolo Pancotto
- Denis Savary
Institutions
- Museo Pietro Canonica
- Villa Borghese
- Artribune
Locations
- Rome
- Italy
- Aschaffenburg
- Germany
- Vienna
- Austria
- Wausau
- United States
- Los Angeles