The Grassi/Re Collection on loan at Museion

A selection of works on exhibition at Palazzo Widmann in the office of the President of the Provincial Council Arno Kompatscher

Museion has been loaned a body of works from one of Italy’s most important collections, the Grassi/Re Collection. Created from the industrialist Alessandro Grassi’s (Prato, 1942-2009) passion for art and colour, the Collection offers a cross-section of art history from the 1980s to the 2000s. Using Transavantgarde works as a base, Grassi widened interest in German and South American post-modern painting by starting an important photography collection.

In fact, in 1999, an exhibition based on photography, entitled Private view. 20 years of photography from a private collection was presented at the Civic Gallery in Bolzano, curated by Letizia Ragaglia, the Museion Director. Grassi was particularly fond of the Alto Adige and Museion, whose exhibitions, organised by the then Director Piero Siena, he followed with great interest.

The loan made to Museion features exclusively paintings. Four of these – by the artists Michel Majerus, Heimo Zobernig and Gerwald Rockenschaub – have been selected for exhibition at Palazzo Widmann, in the office of the President of the Provincial Council Arno Kompatscher.

A happy relationship has therefore been renewed that began in February 2014 when a number of works from the Museion Collection were exhibited in the President’s office who appreciated the “lightness, transparency and openness” that this miniature gallery created. Colours and patterns are the heart of this new series of works.

“I am extremely happy that a private collection has decided, once again, to put its trust in Museion and that a selection of works can be immediately exhibited and enjoyed in the Provincial Council President’s offices,” commented Letizia Ragaglia, the Museion Director. The body of works from the Grassi/Re Collection has been loaned to Museion for the next ten years, until 2029.