Jean Arp's 1960 Middle East Journey Explored in Locarno Exhibition

The Fondazione Marguerite Arp in Locarno presents a new exhibition centered on Jean Arp's 1960 cultural voyage to the Middle East. The show takes as its starting point an album from the trip, 'Pasqua in Terrasanta,' preserved by the foundation. In 1960, Arp (Strasbourg, 1886 – Basel, 1966) traveled with his second wife Marguerite Arp-Hagenbach and a group of intellectuals led by historian Robert Stoll. They visited Egyptian antiquities and religious sites in Jordan and Israel, then extended their stay at Ein Hod, a village near Haifa founded by Marcel Janco, an artist friend of Arp from 1920s Paris. At Ein Hod, an independent collective space still active today, Arp explored new techniques such as goldsmithing and ceramics, reworking familiar forms in new materials. The exhibition follows the journey's chronology, from the encounter with Janco to the stay at the village and its aftermath. It features large wooden reliefs, silver artist jewelry produced at Ein Hod, graphic works, and colorful ceramic reliefs, some never before shown to the public. The display plays with macro and micro themes, highlighting the cyclical nature of Arp's motifs and the varied material expression of his work. The garden of Ronco dei Fiori, Arp's former residence, frames the museum space inaugurated in 2015 and hosts sculptures.