Elisa Montessori. Dream of the Red Chamber

An evocative journey to discover a refined and multifaceted artist, born in Genoa in 1931 and still in full creative swing. Curated by Alessandra Mammì with Andrea Viliani, Elisa Montessori’s solo exhibition at MuCiv - Museo delle Civiltà offer a coherent yet surprising comparison between Italian contemporary art and the Asian Arts and Cultures Collections presented in the EUR_Asia project and, in particular, some Chinese artefacts preserved in the former Luigi Pigorini Prehistoric and Ethnographic Museum, which are rarely exhibited.

Always at the forefront of experimentation with techniques and symbols, Elisa Montessori embarked on an independent artistic journey in the 1950s, in which Asian culture has been a strong source of inspiration. The exhibition takes its title from a classic of Chinese literature published in 1792, the erotic and allegorical novel written by Cao Xueqin that recounts the life, art, customs, rituals, tastes and feelings of the Chinese aristocracy of the time. The novel, given to Elisa Montessori by her ex-husband Mario Tchou, provides an opportunity to articulate an intimate and poetic dialogue with Chinese aesthetics, literature, art and culture, which are an integral part of her research.

The exhibition stems from the acquisition – thanks to the PAC-Piano per l’Arte Contemporanea 2024 (Contemporary Art Plan) promoted and supported by the Ministry of Culture – of a seminal work by the artist, the painting “Paesaggio della Manciuria” (The Landscape of Manchuria), exhibited at the Venice Biennale in 1982.

Photo MuCiv - Museo delle Civiltà. Elisa Montessori, Paesaggio della Manciuria, 1982 (detail)