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The popular Belgian artist conquers Florence Folon above the rooftops
[Susan Glasspool]
A fascinating anthological exhibition opens this May centred around the famous Belgian artist Jean-Michel Folon. Marilena Pasquali, curator of the show, calls it Folon madness, as it is not only being held in Florence, but also spreads out into the surrounding countryside and elsewhere in Tuscany. Promoted by the City Council of Florence the exhibition is organised by the Giorgio Morandi Study Centre, Bologna. Folon has designed the exhibition (which he describes as l'exposition plus importante da ma vie !), mainly around his sculpture though the 300 works on display also include a series of poetic drawings and watercolours by this great master.
The wide lawns surrounding Fort Belvedere, with their wonderful views over Florence, host about 40 large sculptures that are carefully arranged in order to blend harmoniously with the environment.
Sculptures in bronze, sculptures in stone and sculptures in marble, all in Folon’s typical whimsical style, gaze down on the city rooftops and at Brunelleschi’s dome, as if trying to absorb all the magnificence of past and present.
Some of the scultures are already internationally reknowned (the Oiseaux, the Totem, the Homme volant, the Allée des Pensées; the great fountains like La Peche miraculeuse and Fil du Temps), while others have been conceived and created especially for this show. They show the darker side of the artist, his doubts, his fears for the future and his northern roots, and yet, at the same time, are also steeped with a fascination for light, air and space.
The ten rooms inside the Fort itself host an evocative and thematic selection of watercolours, sculptures in bronze, engravings, objects, ceramics, tapestries and posters.
The exhibition extends into the centre of Florence itself, where the Room of Arms in Palazzo Vecchio contains a display of about 30 watercolours, some of the most significant in hìs artistic career, intermingled with sculptures, a tribute to Federico Fellini, whom he met on the set of Casanova in 1975.
The Folon-Chianti exhibition is instead dedicated to ceramics and held in various showrooms in Bagno a Ripoli, Greve and Impruneta. Folon also designed the image-symbol used for the tourist promotional campaign for the Florentine Chianti.
Folon madness will effect much of Tuscany as meetings with the artist, cycles of films linked to his work with famous international directors, a reproposal of the scenic movements and costumes for the Bohème, which he designed for the 2003 Puccini Festival, videos on the artist’s work and personality and the birth of the exhibition, together with other events that have yet to be decided.
So why not join in the Folon madness too? It is anyway a wonderful excuse to visit magnificent Fort Belvedere (refreshments are also available on site). Follow it up with the shows in the Room of Arms and the Chianti and all the other events ....you will certainly become a Folon enthusiast, even if you weren’t before!
More about the show:
Fort Belvedere - Florence
From May 12th
to September 18th.
Arms Room - Florence
From May 12th
to September 18th.
Hours: Monday to Friday
10am-5pm.
Closed on Tuesdays.
Entrance E 8.00/9.00
Bagno a Ripoli, Greve and Impruneta - Chianti
Various exhibition rooms and hours
From May 28th
to September 18th.
MORE
http://www.folon-art.com/
http://www.folonfirenze.it/