FIREWORKS. Ileana Sonnabend and the contemporary art boom

Organised by the Rome the Capital City’s Cultural Affairs Department and Azienda Speciale Palaexpo, and curated by Mario Codognato, the exhibition on display on the main floor of Palazzo Esposizioni explores the story, passion and intuition of the gallery owner and collector Ileana Sonnabend (1914–2007), one of the most incisive figures in the history of art in the second half of the 20th century.

The more than fifty works on display, many of which have never before been exhibited in Italy, come from the Sonnabend Collection Foundation in New York, the Sonnabend Collection in Mantua and other public and private collections. The exhibition highlights the fundamental role played by Ileana Sonnabend in bridging different cultures, forging a bond between European and American art, and in recognising the most innovative and experimental artistic developments of her time, identifying artists and movements destined to leave their mark on international visual culture.

Her constant focus on new artistic languages and her boundless curiosity have accompanied the emergence of some of the most significant movements in contemporary art, from Pop Art to Arte Povera and Conceptual Art, from Minimalism to Neo-Expressionism, right through to Neo-Geo, one of the latest artistic directions supported by the gallery owner. The 35 artists represented include, for example, Georg Baselitz, Christo, Jasper Johns, Jeff Koons, Jannis Kounellis, Roy Lichtenstein, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Robert Rauschenberg, Mimmo Rotella, Mario Schifano, Cy Twombly and Andy Warhol.

Roy Liechtenstein Wall Explosion II, 1954.
The Sonnabend Collection Foundation. Lent to Sonnabend Collection Mantova © Estate of Roy Liechtenstein - 2006 by SIAE