Pompei@Madre: Materia Archeologica bridges ancient and contemporary art in Naples

A groundbreaking collaboration between the Pompeii Archaeological Park and the Madre museum in Naples has produced Pompei@Madre. Materia Archeologica, an exhibition running from November 18, 2017, to September 24, 2018, across two chapters. The show features 400 archaeological objects from Pompeii displayed alongside works by about 90 modern and contemporary artists and intellectuals, including Goethe, Stendhal, Warhol, Rauschenberg, Le Corbusier, and Pink Floyd. Curated by Massimo Osanna, director of the Pompeii Archaeological Park, and Andrea Viliani, director of Madre, the project aims to explore the contemporaneity of Pompeian 'archaeological matter' and its influence on European identity since the site's rediscovery in 1748. The exhibition is co-produced by the two institutions with funding from the Campania Region's POC 2014-2020. A protocol agreement starting summer 2018 will allow major contemporary art museums worldwide to commission new works using Pompeian archaeological materials.