A new season of photography exhibitions is set to put Pordenone at the forefront of the national art scene. This initiative, launched last year and running until 2027 – when Pordenone will be the Italian Capital of Culture – will have the word ‘reading’ as its central theme, a term that is particularly apt for a city like Pordenone, which has always served as a litmus test for Italy’s economic and cultural dynamics. The programme has already had a preview with the recent exhibition ‘Inge Morath. My Stories’, and continues the project launched last year with exhibitions dedicated to Italo Zannier and Bruno Barbey.
A statement from Alberto Parigi, Councillor for Culture: “With these widespread exhibitions, we are taking a quantum leap forward, responding to the buzz and enthusiasm that can be felt throughout the city. Pordenone has already embraced the spirit of being the Italian Capital of Culture, and we have an ambitious goal: we do not want to be the Capital for just one year, but to build a lasting legacy. This exhibition format – which has already begun, will run throughout 2027 and continue into subsequent years – represents our commitment to making Pordenone a Capital of Culture for ever.”
Towards the Italian Capital of Culture 2027
A major cultural project which, centred on the theme of ‘reading’, aims to foster dialogue and connections between the great masters of international photography and contemporary photographers of the very highest calibre. This programme forms an integral part of the Pordenone 2027 dossier and the ‘Towards Italian Capital of Culture 2027’ initiative, reflecting the long-term nature of this cultural project. An initiative which, reflecting the identity and history of a city such as Pordenone, aims to offer a major exhibition season open to collaborations with leading national and international cultural institutions. A season of exhibitions united by a clear vision: interpreting the present through the lens of past experience in order to face the future.
Robert Doisneau
The first major exhibition is dedicated to the French photographer Robert Doisneau (1912–1994), in a retrospective that aims to trace his immense career and the breadth of the themes he explored, whilst also offering new insights into his body of work. Over 130 photographs will be on display in the exhibition spaces of the Harry Bertoia Civic Gallery. This project has been made possible thanks to the Atelier Doisneau in Paris and the collaboration of the Fondazione Artea, and is curated by Gabriel and Chantal Bauret. Beginning in the 1930s, the exhibition will provide a comprehensive overview of his work, characterised by a poetic, human and often ironic style, capable of capturing spontaneous and authentic moments in the streets, cafés and working-class neighbourhoods of the French capital. However, the exhibition will also provide an insight into his commissioned work for major French companies, documenting working-class life and industrial processes; in particular, a collection of photographs from the reportage carried out in 1945 at the French textile mill in Aubusson, commissioned by the magazine *Le Point*, an element that allows a connection to be drawn with the significant textile history of the Pordenone area. The exhibition will be enriched by a significant video interview, produced especially for the occasion, with Doisneau’s daughters, Francine and Annette.
Olivia Arthur
The project continues with a major section dedicated to the leading figures of international contemporary photography. Also on 22 November, an exclusive exhibition by the photographer Olivia Arthur (1980), curated by Marco Minuz, opens. Olivia Arthur is a British photographer born in 1980, known for her documentary work and her intimate, humanist approach to the stories she tells. She has been a member of Magnum Photos since 2013 and won the Inge Morath Prize in 2007. Her photography often focuses on themes of identity, culture and the condition of women, with a particular focus on the worlds that exist on the margins of society. For Pordenone, she will develop two projects: within the historic exhibition space of the Museo Civico d’Arte Ricchieri, she will exhibit her work, *Murmurings of the Skin*, relating it to the art collections housed in the museum through a large-scale installation; a work in which she explores our relationship with our bodies, with our skin and physicality, but also the boundary between humans and machine-technology. The skin becomes a site of inner struggles, of wounds, but also of resistance. Within the new exhibition space dedicated to contemporary photography, ‘Die Gelbe Wand’, at the new Mercati Culturali Pordenone cultural centre, the British artist will exhibit a collection of works centred on her five editorial projects.
Seiichi Furuya
The Ricchieri Civic Art Museum in Pordenone will host two further exhibition projects dedicated to contemporary photography: the first, which opens on 22 November and closes on 8 February 2025, will be dedicated to the Japanese photographer Seiichi Furuya (1950). His photographic work is intimately linked to the loss of his wife Christine and to her memory. On display will be the project *Face to Face*, the concluding chapter of his work on the *Mémoires*, through which, for years, he has sought – via photography and the curation of his archive – to come to terms with his grief, to understand Christine’s presence in his life, and also to explore his own role within that relationship. In this latest project, photographs taken by Seiichi Furuya are juxtaposed and placed in dialogue with those taken by Christine Gössler. The project is organised in collaboration with Fotohof and curated by Kurt Kaindl and Brigitte Blum Kaindl.
Stefanie Moshammer
From 14 February until 6 April, these spaces will host the work of the Austrian photographer Stefanie Moshammer (1988). The exhibition will also extend to the new exhibition spaces at Mercati Culturali Pordenone, within the ‘Die Gelbe Wand’ Gallery. Her work often blends personal experience with social observation, exploring identity, gender roles, memory and the environment. Across the two exhibition spaces, the exhibition will present a deeply personal yet multifaceted exploration of the cultures of family memory and the value of everyday objects. The starting point for the work is photographs, found objects and stories from her grandparents’ lives in the Mühlviertel region of Upper Austria – a life characterised by simplicity, creativity and a respectful use of resources. Years later, Moshammer reconstructs these memories before her camera, creating a tapestry of visual metaphors that reflect old age, daily rituals and the transience of life. The exhibition, curated by Marco Minuz, is organised in collaboration with Fotohof.
Organised by the Municipality of Pordenone – Pordenone, Italian Capital of Culture 2027 Produced and organised by Suazes With the support of the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia-Giulia
Special events at the Galleria Harry Bertoia
The photography exhibition dedicated to Robert Doisneau is complemented by two special events that combine visual art with live music at the Harry Bertoia Gallery. Two afternoons to discover the French master’s photographic art through evocative musical atmospheres.
Sunday 23 November, 5.00 pm – Chanson dans la nuit: A guided tour of the exhibition followed by a concert featuring Paola Matarrese (soprano) and Agata Bocedi (harp). The two artists will perform a carefully curated selection of original pieces and arrangements for the evocative combination of soprano and harp, a repertoire that once enlivened the salons of Paris with a mix of famous romances and new compositions. Info: Guided tour and concert at the Galleria Bertoia – Municipality of Pordenone
Monday 8 December, 5.00 pm – From Klezmer music to film soundtracks. A guided tour of the exhibition followed by a concert by the Rota Duo (clarinet and piano), who specialise in Klezmer music. They will take the audience on a musical journey from Jewish tradition to film soundtracks, alternating between lively and melancholic moments that give a nod to Christmas.
Opening times, tickets and guided tours
GALLERIA HARRY BERTOIA + MUSEO CIVICO D’ARTE PALAZZO RICCHIERI
WEDNESDAY – FRIDAY: 3.00 pm – 7.00 pm SATURDAY AND SUNDAY: 10.00 am – 1.00 pm AND 3.00 pm – 7.00 pm
SPECIAL OPENING DAYS: 8 and 26 December / 6 January / 5 and 6 April.
SPECIAL AFTERNOON OPENING HOURS: 29, 30, 31 DECEMBER / 1, 5 JANUARY → CLOSED ON 25 DECEMBER
MERCATI CULTURALI PORDENONE
SATURDAY – SUNDAY: 10.30 am – 6.00 pm → VIA DELLE CASERME, 22
FULL PRICE: €12 / REDUCED: €9 / STUDENTS: €5 GALLERIABERTOIA@COMUNE.PORDENONE.IT
Photo: Robert Doisneau, Les Pains de Picasso, Vallauris, 1952 ©Robert DOISNEAU Photo: Olivia Arthur, Jeddah ©MagnumPhotos