Elegant renovations. A ‘new’ Gam is reborn after a few setbacks

Even building works manage to look elegant at the GAM, the Gallery of Modern Art in Via Palestro. They are continuing, but discreetly. The background: in early September two years ago, a violent storm swept through the city. It left a significant mark on the GAM too, which had to take immediate action: it closed the second floor straight away because the roof was suffering from serious leaks and secured the works on display there. They have not been accessible to the public since then. We are talking about 300 pieces, those from the Carlo Grassi collection and the Giuseppe Vismara collection, emblematic of a certain, very Milanese way of understanding a love of art. The Giuseppe Vismara collection, donated to the City of Milan following his death in 1975 in accordance with his wife’s wishes, represents the quintessence of bourgeois Lombard collecting of modern art: some forty works, including several by international artists (Matisse, Picasso) and Italian artists such as De Pisis, Morandi and Sironi.

The Carlo Grassi collection is even more fascinating: donated to Palazzo Marino by his widow, Nedda Mieli, in the late 1950s, it is a captivating assortment comprising refined examples of Oriental art and masterful works from the Italian 19th century (Fattori, Boldini, Previati, Segantini), as well as pieces by leading figures of the avant-garde such as Boccioni and Balla. The highlight: works by Manet, Van Gogh and Cézanne (to date, the only examples of these famous Impressionists in Milan’s museums). That would be impressive enough, but there is more. The Grassi is also renowned for its signature museum design, created by none other than Ignazio Gardella between 1956 and 1958, during the years when he was completing the nearby PAC, the Padiglione d’Arte Contemporanea (By the way: keep an eye on it if you are interested in the field, because in November the curator Diego Sileo is set to pull out all the stops with the first solo exhibition in Italy by the 92-year-old American Sheila Hicks, the undisputed master of fibre art, or textile art). With his exquisite taste, Gardella designed the GAM’s spaces, featuring a spiral staircase for access and glass-and-metal display cases, all in shades of brown: everything is designed to gracefully showcase the artworks.

There are two pieces of good news we can share with you now: the first is that the restoration work on the GAM’s roof will be completed this spring and, at the same time, the restoration of the second floor will also be finished. Thanks to our collaboration with the Gardella studio, we will see a ‘refreshed’ layout that retains the original style, whilst being better suited to contemporary use: “The second floor of the museum is a distinctive space with small rooms and low ceilings: it is a place that evokes a sense of home, as the two collections housed there are of a domestic nature. With the restoration and redesign by Ignazio Gardella, we will rediscover the Grassi collection presented to even greater effect, whilst retaining its intimate character,” Paola Zatti, the curator in charge of the GAM, tells Il Foglio.

And then: “This will finally be the museum’s year: a period of major refurbishments lies ahead, including to the exhibition layout. We will also be carrying out work on the first floor, completely revising the section on so-called ‘historical Romanticism’.” In fact, the museum is set to receive, on loan from a private individual, La Congiura, one of the many historical scenes painted by Hayez, as well as a recently acquired painting by Carlo Arienti, another leading figure of Lombard historical Romanticism: the first section, dedicated to how painting has depicted the complex birth of Italy, will be redesigned.

“The exhibitions have enabled us to strengthen our relationship with the public (who could forget the resounding success of the one dedicated to Pellizza da Volpedo?, ed.), but now is the time to reclaim the museum,” says Zatti. We discuss this whilst the ground-floor galleries are hosting the personal poetic vision of Indian artist Shilpa Gupta (until 6 January: well worth a visit), a new chapter in the series of contemporary art exhibitions conceived in collaboration with the Furla Foundation. A prequel to the exhibition stands in the courtyard in front of the GAM, not far from the cranes: the tall iron installation entitled ‘Hope’, and let’s hope it bodes well. “Exhibitions that also open us up to a contemporary audience are important projects, but I’m convinced they must remain targeted and well-thought-out initiatives,” concludes Zatti. “Now is the time to pause and take back control of the museum.”