A New Home for Contemporary Art in Rome: Fondazione D’ARC
A new space dedicated to contemporary art has opened in Rome: the Fondazione D’ARC, an initiative created by collectors Giovanni and Clara Floridi as a natural extension of their remarkable art collection. This space, a 6,000-square-meter area that once housed a cement factory in the heart of the Tiburtina district, has a clear objective: to promote art in all its forms. Thus, it will not only showcase the Floridi collection but will also serve as a true artistic hub, hosting exhibitions, research projects, and artist residencies.
The program of activities, curated by Giuliana Benassi, will be entirely dedicated to providing the public with opportunities for openness, dialogue, and exchange. The foundation’s debut event took place the other evening with the official unveiling of the permanent collection, which the two collectors began in the early 1990s.
The collection includes works spanning from the post-war era to contemporary Italian and international art, with artists such as Jannis Kounellis, Alighiero Boetti, Anselm Kiefer, and Christo. The event was attended by numerous representatives from the art world. In addition to the hosts, Giovanni and Clara Floridi, we photographed curator Giuliana Benassi, Luca Lo Pinto, Flavio Favelli, Paolo Canevari, Marco Tirelli, Alfredo Pirri, Nunzio, Giovanni Dessì, Massimo Mininni, Luca Vitone, Anna Marzotto, Daniela Porro, and Giovanna Caruso Fendi. Guests found themselves surrounded by paintings, sculptures, and installations displayed within the former industrial spaces, as if the works had finally been liberated from their storage crates. Free, yet still protected. Fittingly, the origin of the name D’ARC is an acronym for Refuge of Contemporary Art (Rifugio d’Arte Contemporanea)…
Text: Germano D’Acquisto
Photos: Niccolò Campita
