And This Would Be .....????

Thursday evening we went to the new MAXXI gallery out near the Parco del Musica. I think it is a stunning example of modern architecture. Designed by the flamboyant British-Iraqi architect Saha Hadid it incorporates the facade of the former military buildings on the site while making a very bold statement of its purpose as a museum for contemporary art. It doesn't appear all that large from the outside but once through the towering glass doors it opens up into a brilliantly conceived display space.


That gigantic skeleton laid out in front of the entrance is the work of Gino De Dominicis - and he is the subject of a special exhibition and I'll be sharing a bit more of his work on Monday.

In the meantime yesterday we said goodbye to one of our colleagues and presented her with this little gift that clearly demonstrates the sleek lines and style of Italian design.



It gives rise to two questions.

1. What the hell is it?
2. What the heck does it do?

So what would you use this for? Any suggestions? And YDG remember Nicky and Nora sometimes read the blog.

07 agosto - San Sisto e compagni

Related articles by Zemanta

• Rome's MAXXI gallery of modern art (telegraph.co.uk)

Barcelona Japonisme

I've cribbed the title of this post from one of my favorite art blogs - Japonisme. Lotus Green fills her posts with a mix of the visual, the written word and on occasion the aural - all with connections to the influence of Japan on the artistic world.

Architecturally Barcelona is one of the great cities of the world. Certainly in the historic centre you can't walk a block without being struck by the beautiful, the exotic or the just downright unusual. A stroll down the Rambla - note to self, next trip to Barcelona is weekdays only - reveals the beauties of building after building. Saturday morning - before the crowds became to numerous - revealed this rather fanciful take on things Nipponese.
Though it is now a banking outlet our guess is that at one point this was the home of an umbrella maker. Whoever the architect may have been there's a slight chance he may have confused Japanese and Chinese in the odd detail.The facade is a strange mixture of wooden umbrellas, painted panels of stylized Japanese figures, scraffiti cranes and stained glass. And a combination of floodlights and back lighting makes sure that the building does not go unnoticed at night.

27 marzo - San Ruperto