Rome’s MAXXI – the National Museum of 21st Century Art – is one the Via Guido Reni, in the Flaminia neighbourhood.
The brilliant Baghdad-born architect Zaha Hadid won the commission through an international competition. The building was completed in 2009.
The interior incorporates revolutionary structural (sculptural?) features.
The gallery spaces are awash in colour.
An India-themed show was on display when I visited. It included videos by Amar Kanwar and
and an installation by Mysore-born N.S. Harsha, who won the 2008 Artes Mundi Prize.
On the pavement below was a site-specific installation by N.S.Harsha, featuring hundreds of faces. It is unfortunately rather faded now.
The MAXXI is certainly spectacular but I must admit that I was somewhat disappointed. The building is a performance (or an installation) in its own right – I do not envy the artists who have to show their work there.
There was nothing disappointing though about the nearby Auditorium Parco della Musica. Designed by Renzo Piano
it features three futuristic domes
linked by performance spaces.
The floors and ceilings are moveable and the acoustics are said to be amazing.
I was taken to the sites by Anna Nadotti, my Italian translator (see my post of Nov 6). She recently sent me this link to a blog by Silvia Pareschi: it is about my posts on the ‘Occupy Teatro Valle’ movement –
http://ninehoursofseparation.blogspot.com/.