Before I moved to Rome, I will readily admit that my knowledge and appreciation of modern art was virtually non-existent. Over the last 3 years, that has changed, thanks in no small way to the appeal of GNAM’s elegant, spacious, and airy exhibition space. Situated on the north edge of Villa Borghese, a visit here can be combined with a walk in the park and rounded off with a drink or something to eat in the refined but welcoming Caffé delle Arti.
Until 14 October, if you visit the gallery, you will also find the BRIC-à-brac exhibition (full title: BRIC-à-brac, The Jumble of Growth, Chinese title: Another Choice) with pieces by artists from Belgium, Brazil, China, Kurdistan, and Russia, to name but a few. The title is a play on words. BRIC stands for Brazil, Russia, India, and China, and is an acronym used to talk about the major global economic role which these countries are playing. The consequence of this high-speed economic growth is uneven modernization and the sharp contrasts that emerge as a result of these radical transformations? A bric-à-brac of those who “have” and those who “have not”.
The most eye-catching exhibit is found in the central room, straight ahead of you when you walk into the museum. It is called A…O! by Tian Longyu and is a distorted tiger sculpture made of glass and animal hair. According to the artist: “The tiger has a distorted shape after it ate its captive animal—an elephant. It didn’t die, but become a large, ugly monster still in tiger-skin. My artwork indicates that sometimes a strong desire would likely drive people to pursue a goal beyond their control. Gluttony is a battle for us all. The tiger lost the battle due to its gluttony.”
Other thought-provoking pieces include a suitcase filled with makeshift laboratory equipment that replicates the human digestive system by the Belgian artist Wim Delvoye; two models in dresses decorated with collage and their heads linked by a pipe covered in brown tape, designed to represent the sensory overload of information that we have to grapple with on a daily basis (Two Subjecters by Thomas Hirschhorn); as well as a conceptual installation of a pile of bricks by Damián Ortega (Matéria en Reposo), evoking the bricks’ potential – their “shape of things to come”.
The installation that really caught my attention was by the digital artist Du Zhenjun, titled Babel-world, a series of photographs (two of which are here on display) that were inspired by the story of the Tower of Babel in the book of Genesis. The underlying theme that weaves through these photographs is globalisation and the brutal changes brought upon our social condition by digital technologies that inevitably reshape our reality.
All the pieces mentioned above can be found in the first room of the museum, but there are other pieces in nearby rooms, which you can stumble across as you begin to explore the rest of the exhibition space. Time your visit right, and you can find you have the place to yourself – I recommend going at lunchtime, and then eating a late lunch in the Caffé (more on that to follow). It is well worth seeing the permanent exhibits of modern and contemporary art, and just generally relishing the bright, white space that makes it altogether such a stunning museum.
The range of pictures, sculptures and installations are wide and varied, covering 200 years of art, meaning that even the amateur visitor (putting myself firmly in that category) can appreciate and access the collection. There are familiar pieces by Monet, Cezanne, Klimt, and Rodin, to name a few of the famous artists. But I have enjoyed discovering artists, such as Gaetano Previati whose work is an explosion of light and drama, and Giorgio Morandi who specialized in still life paintings that cannot fail but to invite a moment of calm. There are also provocative installations, such as Berlinde De Bruyckere’s We are all Flesh, which is intended to demonstrate how suffering and the horror of violence unites humans and animals.
At this point, I found my mind beginning to wander from less aesthetical thoughts and towards more practical ones. I wanted a drink. If I can suggest an itinerary, it would be this: start with the BRIC-à-brac exhibit before visiting the wing of the building to the right. When you have explored this, make your way back through the central section to the other wing, and at the back you will find the gallery’s Caffé delle Arti.
Decorated with bronze statues and posters advertising current and forthcoming exhibitions, and tables inside as well as outside in their leafy and shady garden, it is the perfect place to relax after a visit to the gallery, or indeed to visit in its own right, without going into the museum. The service is quick and efficient, but it can get quite full when the weather is good. The menu has a range of drinks and food to suit all tastes. They have an impressive cocktail list and I find I can never pass up the opportunity to eat San Daniele prosciutto with creamy buffalo mozzarella, which is one of their cold plates. Enjoy!
How to get there:
Tram 3 or 19, stop: Galleria Arte Moderna
Bus C3, 61, 160 or 495, stop: Del Fiocco/Valle Giulia (in Villa Borghese)
Metro line A, stop: Flaminio
Entrance for visitors with disabilities: Via Gramsci, 71
Opening hours Tuesday – Sunday: 8.30 – 19.30
Last admission is 45 minutes before the closing time
Tickets – full: € 10,00, reduced: € 5,00
Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea
viale delle Belle Arti, 131
Tel: 06 32298221
