MA*GA Museum Celebrates 50 Years with 'Ritmo sopra tutto' Exhibition

The MA*GA museum in Gallarate, Italy, marks its 50th anniversary with the exhibition 'Ritmo sopra tutto' (Rhythm Above All), curated by poet Franco Buffoni. The show features 100 works from the museum's collection of approximately 6,000 pieces, tracing the relationship between word and image through literature and poetry. Highlights include a 1:1 scale reconstruction of the original 1966 exhibition space in the apartment on via XXV Aprile, where the Civica Galleria d'Arte Moderna first opened on October 15, 1966. The exhibition also displays all catalogs published by the museum over five decades, offering a lesson in graphic design evolution. Artists featured range from historical figures like Emilio Scanavino, Mario Radice, Renzo Vespignani, Lucio Fontana, and Carol Rama to contemporary names such as Moira Ricci, Luigi Presicce, Marzia Migliora, and Adrian Paci. The museum, renamed MA*GA after moving to a new building in 2010, survived a devastating fire on February 14, 2013, which caused €2 million in damages but no injuries or loss of artworks. Director Emma Zanella noted that the museum continued programming at Triennale di Milano and Villa Reale di Monza during closure. Looking ahead, a new president for the Fondazione Silvio Zanella is expected to be appointed by the city administration, with Silvana Annichiarico, director of Triennale Design Museum, as a leading candidate. The exhibition runs from October 15, 2016, to February 5, 2017.