Umberto Croppi on the Moments That Defined His Career in Art

Umberto Croppi, President of the Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma, reflects on the pivotal moments that shaped his career in the art world. He traces his formative experiences back to his adolescence, when he visited a Braque and Cubism exhibition curated by Palma Bucarelli at the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna, which gave him the tools to understand 20th-century aesthetics. Around the same time, he saw "Contemporanea," a large exhibition conceived by Bonito Oliva and Graziella Buontempo in the newly built underground parking lot of Villa Borghese, announced by Christo and Jeanne-Claude's wrapping of Porta Pinciana. These encounters sparked his curiosity and led to a career that included directing the publishing house Vallecchi, founding the BZF gallery, heading the Fondazione Valore Italia, serving as culture assessor for Rome, and presiding over the Quadriennale di Roma. Later, he was appointed president of the Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma and began collaborating with the Fondazione Berengo in Venice. As a tribute to Palma Bucarelli, he named a street after her at the foot of the Galleria Nazionale.