Pistoia 2017: Marino Marini Exhibition as Cultural Capital Highlight

Pistoia's year as Italian Capital of Culture 2017, despite initial criticism from Vittorio Sgarbi who deemed the choice too provincial, has exceeded expectations through a robust cultural program. The centerpiece is a major exhibition dedicated to Marino Marini (1901–1980), the city's most renowned artist, opening mid-September at Palazzo Fabroni. Titled "Passioni Visive," the show is organized by the Fondazione Marino Marini and the Fondazione Guggenheim Venezia, with support from the Comune di Pistoia. Curated by Barbara Cinelli and Flavio Fergonzi, it spans from the 1920s to the 1970s, highlighting Marini's contribution to Italian sculpture and his post-war development of a style blending Cubist fragmentation and Expressionist distortion. The exhibition also places Marini in dialogue with other major sculptors. After Pistoia, it travels to the Fondazione Guggenheim Venezia. Three ancillary shows complement the main event: "Marino nell'immagine di Aurelio Amendola (1968-1975)" at Palazzo Tau from July 16, featuring photographs by Amendola; "Mirò e Marino. I colori del Mediterraneo" from mid-September, exploring the painters' shared use of primary colors and their connection through Fernand Mourlot's Paris atelier; and a retrospective of Kengiro Azuma, Marini's longtime student and assistant, at Palazzo Tau from October 22.