Costantino Nivola’s Pioneering Sandcast Reliefs, Concrete Sculptures and Rarely Seen Architectural Maquettes on view at this May

Organized in collaboration with the Nivola Foundation and the Embassy of in Washington D.C., Nivola: Sandscapes Provides a Rare Opportunity to Explore the Innovative Techniques of the Modernist Sculptor 2700 Route 9 Cold Spring, NY 10516, USA Cold Spring, New York – February 9, 2021 – This spring, Magazzino Italian Art will Tel +1 845 666 7202 open a new special exhibition dedicated to the work of artist Costantino Nivola, Sardinian [email protected] born and longtime resident of Springs, NY. Nivola: Sandscapes explores the artist’s pioneering process of sandcast sculpting. Featuring a selection of approximately 50 Follow Magazzino on social media: works from the early 1950s to the 1970s, including sandcast reliefs, carved concrete @magazzino sculptures, and rarely seen maquettes of his most important architectural commissions, #MagazzinoItalianArt this focused presentation will examine the artistic process, range of influences, and notable impact that Nivola had on modern urban architecture and design. Media Contacts USA Juliet Vincente On view at Magazzino Italian Art from May 8, 2021, through January 10, 2022, Nivola: [email protected] Sandscapes includes rarely seen work from the artist’s family estate as well as major 212 348 6800 / 646 640 6586 institutional and private loans. The exhibition is curated by Magazzino’s 2020-21 Scholar-in-Residence, Teresa Kittler, with Chiara Mannarino, and is organized in Press Office ITALY collaboration with the Nivola Foundation and with the support of the Embassy of Italy Ambra Nepi in Washington D.C. AMBRA NEPI COMUNICAZIONE [email protected] “At Magazzino, we aim to open a dialogue of artistic exchange between the U.S. and Italy. + 39 348 654 3173 Nivola is a seminal figure in the history of Modernism, while also serving as a dynamic case study in understanding the experience of Italian immigrants to America in the Press Office SPAIN Postwar period,” says Director Vittorio Calabrese. “The exhibition examines the María Pardo de Santayana inspirations that informed his artistic practice, including his use of Sardinian iconography, [email protected] his formal design training, and his interest in creating artwork engaged with American +34 687 859 857 culture. We are considering Nivola in light of our current moment, on the precipice of significant change that requires us, as a museum and a society, to advocate for the Nivola in the garden of Springs, importance of art and artists in civic life.” East Hampton, with the model for William E. Grady Vocational "This is the story of an Italian refugee who made America his home, finding kindred spirits High School, 1954-55. among a community of artists and architects including and Willem de Photo Richard Stein. Kooning,” says exhibition curator Teresa Kittler, “Nivola was energetic and hands-on in Courtesy Fondazione Nivola. that community; his work was in part defined by the friendships he made and through his experimental living and working arrangements. Much of his best-known work engaged with a version of and architecture that was public-facing and grounded in collaboration; and invested in the integration of art and architecture.”

Born in Orani, , Costantino Nivola (1911 - 1988) began his career as a graphic designer in Milan. In 1938, he was forced to flee fascist Italy with his German-Jewish wife, Ruth Guggenheim. The couple arrived in in 1939 and quickly became part of its flourishing art scene, counting artists such as Jackson Pollock, Lee Krasner, and Saul Steinberg among their close friends. They eventually settled in the hamlet of Springs on the East End of Long Island, which became a renewing source of inspiration for Nivola.

Nivola: Sandscapes examines the sandcasting techniques that the artist developed in the late 1940s, merging his overlapping interest in sculpture, , Sardinian iconography and the human figure. His method involved carving into wet sand and filling the negative form with plaster. Nivola continued to evolve his technique over time and experimented with different materials, replacinge pl th aster with durable cement, which enabled him to create large-scale reliefs for building exteriors.

Drawing from his experience in masonry, and encouraged by his friend and mentor Le Corbusier, who he met in the 1940s, Nivola began to work on large-scale architectural commissions. Nivola: Sandscapes presents a selection of rarely seen maquettes from which Nivola realized his monumental building facades. On view are a number from his most notable projects, including the iconic Olivetti Showroom on 5th Avenue, the Bridgeport Post, the Bolling Federal Building in Kansas City, the Janesville Gazette and the William E. Grady Vocational High School in Brooklyn. 2700 Route 9 Cold Spring, NY 10516, USA “This exhibition highlights Nivola’s quest for identity and his global vision,e coe th xistence Tel +1 845 666 7202 in his work of a Modernist legacy and postmodernist insights, his double interest in form [email protected] and community ideals,” says the president of the Nivola Foundation, Giuliana Altea.

Follow Magazzino on social media: “During the show, a welcome thread will unite Orani and New York” says the director of @magazzino Museo Nivola, Antonella Camarda. “The pandemic drifted the two sides of the Atlantic #MagazzinoItalianArt Ocean apart, Nivola is bringing us together again.”

Media Contacts USA “Costantino Nivola’s vision could not be more relevant to the times, as he used his Juliet Vincente artwork to humanize public spaces and urban landscapes and to engender a sense of [email protected] civic identity and community,” says Ambassador of Italy to the , Armando 212 348 6800 / 646 640 6586 Varricchio. “Through this exhibition, which aptly reflects Nivola’s artistic trajectory from the heart of Sardinia to New York City, Magazzino provides us, once again, with a very Press Office ITALY welcome opportunity to further foster cultural exchanges between individuals and Ambra Nepi communities in Italy and the United States.” AMBRA NEPI COMUNICAZIONE [email protected] About Costantino Nivola + 39 348 654 3173 Known for his large-scale architectural reliefs, Costantino Nivola (1911 – 1988) was a sculptor, painter, designer, and teacher. Born in Orani, a village in the Italian island of Press Office SPAIN Sardinia, he worked with his mason father before taking up an apprenticeship with the María Pardo de Santayana artist Mario Delitala. In 1931, he won a scholarship to attend the Higher Institute for Artistic [email protected] Industries at Monza (ISIA), where he studied under the tutelage of Marino Marini and +34 687 859 857 Giuseppe Pagano, among others, and contributed to the Milan Triennale in 1936 and the Italian Pavilion at the Paris Exposition in 1937.

Nivola began his career in 1936 working as a graphic designer for the Olivetti company in Milan. In 1938, he and his wife, Ruth Guggenheim, a fellow student at ISIA, fled fascist Italy for Paris before emigrating to New York City in 1939, where they set up a home in Greenwich Village. Supporting himself as he could, Nivola eventually became art director for several architectural magazines. In 1948, he bought a farmhouse in Springs. Nivola’s first major commission was for the Olivetti showroom on 5th Avenue, and this was quickly followed by a series of large-scale commissions for architectural projects. Throughout his life, Nivola was also committed to art and design education, and held posts at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, , Dartmouth, and Berkeley. He exhibited his non-commissioned work regularly in both the U.S. and Italy.

About Teresa Kittler Teresa Kittler is a lecturer in Modern and Contemporary Art at the University of York, UK. Her research focuses on artistic practices since 1945 with a special interest in Italian postwar art. She has been the recipient of fellowships from the British Academy,

Leverhulme, the British School at , and the Center for Italian Modern Art (CIMA). Her work has been published by Oxford Art Journal, Bloomsbury, and Peter Lang, amongst others. She has written on for catalogues accompanying the exhibitions Marisa Merz: The Sky is a Great Place (Los Angeles Hammer Museum & Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2017) and Entrare Nell’Opera (Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, 2019), and on Carla Accardi for the catalogue accompanying senzamargine. at the MAXXI (2021). She also worked as Assistant Curator for the 10 Gwangju Biennale (2014) and as a curatorial assistant for : Game Plan (, 2012).

About Magazzino Italian Art Located in Cold Spring, New York, Magazzino Italian Art is a museum and research center dedicated to advancing scholarship and public appreciation of postwar and contemporary Italian art in the United States. The nonprofit museum serves as an advocate for Italian artists as it celebrates the range of their creative practices from to the present. Through its curatorial, scholarly, and public initiatives, Magazzino explores the impact and enduring resonances of Italian art on a global level. Meaning “warehouse” in Italian, Magazzino was co-founded by Nancy Olnick and Giorgio Spanu. 2700 Route 9 The 20,000 square-foot museum, designed by Spanish architect Miguel Quismondo, Cold Spring, NY 10516, USA opened its doors in 2017, creating a new cultural hub and community resource within Tel +1 845 666 7202 the Hudson Valley. [email protected] Admission is free to the public. Follow Magazzino on social media: @magazzino About the Fondazione Nivola #MagazzinoItalianArt The Fondazione Costantino Nivola promotes the awareness of the work and message of Costantino Nivola as well as supporting contemporary art in general through Media Contacts USA exhibitions, research, and cultural activities. The foundation is responsible for Museo Juliet Vincente Nivola, in the artist’s hometown, Orani, Sardinia. The museum’s collection comprises [email protected] more than 400 sculptures, , and drawings and organizes temporary exhibitions 212 348 6800 / 646 640 6586 focused primarily on the relationship between art, architecture, and landscape. For more information, visit https://www.museonivola.it/en/. Press Office ITALY Ambra Nepi About The Embassy of Italy in Washington D.C. AMBRA NEPI COMUNICAZIONE The Embassy of Italy in Washington D.C. is the largest Italian bilateral embassy [email protected] worldwide. The Chief of Mission is Ambassador Armando Varricchio. The Embassy + 39 348 654 3173 promotes friendly relations between the United States and Italy in the political, economic, cultural and scientific fields, supported by a large network of 9 Consulates, 5 Cultural Press Office SPAIN Institutes, 6 Italian Trade Agency offices, and 3 Italian Tourist Board offices. Through its María Pardo de Santayana Consular section, the Embassy of Italy also offers a host of consular services to Italian [email protected] and non- Italian citizens living within its jurisdiction. Cultural relations between Italy and +34 687 859 857 the United States find fertile ground in a multifaceted network of partnerships between government, universities, research institutions, cultural institutions, associations, schools, and enterprises of the two countries. The large and accomplished community of Italian- Americans has also been an active force in expanding cultural relations.