Venues:
Florence: Palazzo Medici Riccardi, December 12, 1998–January 24, 1999.
Padua: Palazzo della Ragione, February 5–28, 1999.
Turin: Castello di Stupinigi, March 16–May 10, 1999.
Palermo: Palazzo dei Normanni, May 22–June 27, 1999.

Curator:
Fred Licht.

Artists:
Rinaldo Bigi, Andrea Cascella, Pietro Cascella, Ettore Colla, Pietro Consagra, Chryssa, Naum Gabo, Alberto Giacometti, Arturo Martini, Costantino Nivola, Arnaldo Pomodoro, Francesco Somani, Adolf Vallazza, Alberto Viani, Cordelia von den Steinen and Kan Yasuda.

Exhibition description:
This exhibition foregrounded the role of light as an aesthetic and metaphorical power, specifically in sculpture. Light was presented as a unique means of expression, as it is precisely the emphasis on light and shadow that enables the creation of gradation, volume and space. Artists have always dealt with the immaterial medium of light, traditionally playing with natural light in their sculptural groups or, more recently, experimenting with neon and artificial light in contemporary installations. This show therefore surveyed sculptors’ progress from the creation of illusionary representations with natural light to the actual inclusion of artificial light in the very core of the art.

Partnerships:
Exhibition organized in partnership with ENEL.

Catalogue:
Licht, Fred. Illuminazioni. Firenze and Siena: Gli Ori, Prato-maschietto & mugolino, 1998.

Bilingual catalogue, in English and Italian. Catalogue includes prefaces by Elisabetta Del Lungo (Assessore alla Cultura della Provincia di Firenze), Chicco Testa (Presidente Enel) and Thomas Krens (Direttore, Fondazione Solomon R. Guggenheim). Essays by Fred Licht and Steven Weintraub. Catalogue also contains an exhibition checklist with catalogue entries and artists’ biographies.

Library location: GUGG SRG 1999 .03.