Olgiati Donation of 76 Works to MASI Lugano Announced

Giancarlo and Danna Olgiati, prominent Swiss collectors, have donated 76 artworks to the Museo d'arte della Svizzera italiana (MASI) in Lugano. The donation, announced by the MASI Foundation Council, is structured in four groups: 8 works by international artists including Christian Boltanski, Liu Ding, Shannon Ebner, and Karl Haendel; 28 works by Swiss artists such as Adriana Beretta, Martin Disler, and Urs Lüthi; 28 works by Italian artists including Stefano Arienti, Francesco Barocco, and Gianni Caravaggio; and 12 Bauhaus photography works by Lux Feininger, Franco Grignani, Xanti Schawinsky, and Luigi Veronesi. The Olgiatis had previously deposited over 200 works at LAC, which opened in 2015 and houses MASI. The new donation strengthens the museum's collection spanning from Futurism to the present, with a focus on Nouveaux Réalistes and Arte Povera, and joins other major private donations like the Lenggenhager-Tschannen and Panza di Biumo collections. The 76 works were selected by former MASI director Marco Franciolli, who was succeeded by Tobia Bezzola on January 1, 2018. A dedicated exhibition titled "Noi e il Masi" will run from April 22 to July 29, 2018. Meanwhile, Spazio -1 will reopen from March 18 to May 27, 2018, displaying about 100 works from the 1950s to the present.