Galleria. Ouverture

The exhibition has its origins in April 2021, thanks to the conception of a special initiative desired by Paola Pizzighini Benelli to respond to the difficulties of Bologna’s artistic community further challenged by the pandemic.

President of the Palazzo Boncompagni Foundation and sole director of Magnolia SRL, Paola Pizzighini Benelli, in 2021 in fact opened the doors of Palazzo Boncompagni, known as the ancient building where Pope Gregory XIII was born and lived until his ascent to the papal throne on May 13, 1572.
The mansion houses the studios of Ester Grossi (1981, Avezzano) and Amalia Mora (1982, Cupra Marittima), giving rise to a new artist residency with the aim of creating a project that would not only end with a final restitution but would be cyclically regenerated over time.

Galleria Cavour 1959 has always been synonymous with fashion, art and culture. Once again, thanks to the Palazzo Boncompagni Foundation, which offered an artist residency to Ester Grossi and Amalia Mora, we are happy to have an exhibition in the Gallery, in the Green Terrace. It is a revisiting of the architecture of Galleria Cavour through digital images from the artists’ point of view. In addition to the “Ouverture” exhibition, there will also be a callback to the Mondino exhibition at Palazzo Boncompagni in the Lexus store, with some works by artist Aldo Mondino”.

Paola Pizzighini Benelli, presidente della Fondazione Palazzo Boncompagni e Galleria Cavour

Ester Grossi and Amalia Mora’s stay at Palazzo Boncompagni thus gave rise to a reinterpretation of Galleria Cavour 1959, thanks to twelve never-before-seen images, one for each month of the year, inspired by the traits that have always distinguished the gallery: innovation, sustainability and sharing.
Grossi and Mora’s works also reworked the visionary and highly creative elements of the rationalist building designed by engineer Pizzighini.

Ester Grossi‘s compact, linear and rigorous stroke with a gaited but decisive rhythm and her acrylics on paper are entrusted with the task of rethinking the Gallery’s urban and architectural history. The result is five hand-painted plates that recall the architectural elements of the original project in an essential and stylized vision where green tones enhance the theme of environmental sustainability that has characterized the building since its design.

In Amalia Mora‘s five illustrations, on the other hand, the spaces come alive with elegant and delicate figures that move to the rhythm of a happy, carefree life and tell of the many possibilities offered by the Galleria. From shopping to relationship life, from beauty care to wellness, the illustrations remind us with grace and cheerfulness that the Galleria is above all a social space designed as a meeting point.