If the Guggenheim’s recent “Italian Futurism” show left you wanting more, be thankful for Sperone Westwater’s deep collection of Italian art from the pre-/during/postwar years. The gallery’s exhibition covers nearly the exact same time period (1910s-1950s) as the Guggenheim show, but branches out to include Futurism-adjacent movements and styles like Concrete art and, more generally, Italian abstraction. Two floors of the gallery are hung salon-style with 119 works by some of the best-known Italian artists (e.g. Giacomo Balla, Lucio Fontana, Ettore Sottsass), as well as painters lesser known to American audiences, like Manlio Rho, Carla Badiali and Atanasio Soldati. “Painting in Italy” is a museum-quality show that should not be missed.
Pictured: Atansio Soldati: Composizione (Composition), 1933,â?¨oil on canvas, approx.â?¨14 by 26 inches.â?¨Courtesy Sperone Westwater, New York.