Matera's National Museum Opens Two Summer Contemporary Art Shows

The Museo nazionale di Matera, formed from the merger of the Museo Archeologico nazionale Domenico Ridola and the Museo nazionale d'Arte Medievale e Moderna della Basilica di Palazzo Lanfranchi, is strengthening its contemporary art focus with two summer exhibitions opening July 19, 2023. The shows, curated by art historian Alessandro Demma and museum director Annamaria Mauro, are hosted at Palazzo Lanfranchi. 'Tensioni. Gisella Chaudry – Paolo Grassino' features works by Sicilian artist Gisella Chaudry (born 1989, Palermo) and Paolo Grassino (born 1967, Turin), exploring time and memory through physical and conceptual tensions in the Chiesa del Carmine. Chaudry's piece 'Punto di contatto' addresses energy and movement of matter, while Grassino's 'T' engages existential drama. 'Travolti. L’essere umano nelle opere grafiche di Luigi Guerricchio' presents 60 works—etchings, xylographies, lithographs, and engravings—by Luigi Guerricchio (Matera, 1932–1996) in the Sala delle Arcate, offering an anthropological and sociological journey through 20th-century faces. 'Tensioni' runs July 19 to October 1, 2023; 'Travolti' runs July 19 to September 17, 2023.