Press release
Exhibitions 2017
Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art, London
www.estorickcollection.com @Estorick
War in the Sunshine: The British in Italy 1917-1918
13 January – 19 March 2017
As commemorations of the Great War continue, this exhibition brings together 25 rarely
shown artworks and 50 photographs documenting the little known role of British forces in
Italy during the First World War. On special loan from the Imperial War Museum, they
include the drawings and paintings of WW1 pilot Sydney Carline (1888-1929), employed as
an official war artist during the conflict and tasked with documenting aerial warfare. Sketched
from a Sopwith Camel, Carline’s images of dogfights above the Italian front date from 1918.
Alongside Carline’s dramatic works are contemporary documentary images taken by W. J.
Brunell (1878-1960) and Lieutenant Ernest Brooks (1878-1941). Brooks was the first
official photographer to be appointed by the British military, and produced several thousand
images between 1915 and 1918.
Giacomo Balla: Designing the Future
5 April – 25 June 2017
The Biagiotti Cigna Collection is one of the largest collections of works by the Futurist painter
Giacomo Balla (1871-1958). Assembled by the renowned Italian fashion designer Laura
Biagiotti, and her husband Gianni Cigna, the collection comprises over 300 works and
represents the artist’s entire oeuvre, spanning the years 1904-51. The works on display will
include figurative painting and drawing, abstraction and applied art, and many of Balla’s
fashion-related designs. This major show will be curated by Fabio Benzi, a leading authority on
the artist who has worked closely with the Fondazione Biagiotti Cigna for many years.
Franco Grignani
5 July – 10 September 2017
Best known for his swirling ‘Woolmark’ logo, Franco Grignani (1908-1999) was an extraordinary
graphic designer and artist whose dazzling works anticipated many of the key ideas and visual
characteristics of Op Art by several years. Comprising around 50 pieces from the Grignani
family collection, this exhibition introduces UK audiences to the work of an artistic pioneer
whose achievements have tended to be overshadowed by later figures such as Bridget Riley.
Arte Povera and British Artists
20 September – 23 December 2017
‘Arte Povera’ was introduced as a loose descriptive term in September 1967 to describe the
independent practices of a number of Italian artists. Over the following years, the critic
Germano Celant attempted to extend this definition to include the work of contemporary
figures in Europe and America. This exhibition highlights that influence in the work of some
of the British artists for whom the example of Arte Povera, in its different guises, has been a
lasting source of inspiration.
Timed to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of Celant's first landmark exhibition, this show
juxtaposes work by the movement’s artists with that of figures such as Eric Bainbridge, Ceal
Floyer, Anya Gallaccio, Lucy Skaer and Gavin Turk.
Notes to Editors:
About the Estorick Collection
The Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art is internationally renowned for its core of
Futurist works. It comprises some 120 paintings, drawings, watercolours, prints and
sculptures by many of the most prominent Italian artists of the Modernist era. There are six
galleries, two of which are used for temporary exhibitions. Since opening in 1998, the
Estorick has established a reputation and gained critical acclaim as a key venue for bringing
Italian art to the British public.
Listings information
Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art, 39a Canonbury Square, London N1 2AN
T: +44 (0)20 7704 9522
www.estorickcollection.com Twitter: @Estorick
Opening Hours
Wednesdays – Saturdays 11.00-18.00, Sundays 12.00-17.00, closed Mondays & Tuesdays
Admission: £6.50, Concs £4.50. Includes entry to exhibition and permanent collection.
Transport: Victoria Line, Overground and Thameslink to Highbury & Islington.
For further press information, please contact Alison Wright
Alison Wright E: [email protected],
T: +44 (0)1608 646 175 or M: +44 (0)7814 796 930