On Collecting. Panza Collection Archives
Hauser & Wirth is proud to present, 鈥極n Collecting. Panza Collection Archives鈥. This exhibition, project space and series of events explore the archives and practices of Giuseppe and Giovanna Panza, the internationally renowned collectors who, over more than five decades, built an extraordinary contemporary art collection including works by minimal and conceptual artists from both America and Europe.
The presentation features archival material presented for the first time and a series of plywood paintings by Ford Beckman. Sol LeWitt鈥檚 鈥榃all Drawing No.54鈥 (1970) will be realised during the exhibition as a performative action in the gallery space. A screening and series of public talks over the course of the exhibition expands on the topic of collecting as a concept.
From the 1950s, Giuseppe Panza played a fundamental role in introducing American art movements to the museums of Europe. Dr. Panza was known for the pioneering and rigorous approach taken to all aspects of the collecting process. These fascinating archives bring to life the methods of selecting the artworks, their meticulous documentation in the space, the correspondence with the artists, the precision of his curatorial approach and the modes of display in both the domestic environment and institutional spaces.
The archival materials have been organised in rows reminiscent of the reading room of a library to reflect that for Giuseppe Panza, art was a philosophical pursuit for truth and exhibiting art was a vehicle for communicating knowledge. The study room is simultaneously an exhibiting model and a curatorial approach. The archive material on view has been divided into four categories: books and research materials; documentation of the artworks and correspondence with the artists; Giuseppe Panza鈥檚 personal drawings and photographs and, lastly, his unrealised projects.
Panza鈥檚 documentation of the artworks and his correspondence with artists, features archive material such as letters from Hanne Darboven, the chromatic prototypes of Phillip Sims, the drawings and notebooks of Lawrence Carroll, the correspondence with Ford Beckman, the invitations and photographic reports of David Simpson and the photographic reports of Richard Nonas鈥檚 sculptures.
Included in the presentation are Giuseppe Panza鈥檚 personal drawings and his own photographs of skies which were a source of inspiration leading him to collect a series of monochromes. This section also includes curatorial studies for the installation of the Panza Collection in Sassuolo, Italy, and in Albright Knox in Buffalo, USA. Another section documents Giuseppe Panza鈥檚 role as a pioneer of Land and Environmental art and the unrealised projects he was working on within this genre. He supported the crater projects by James Turrell, two environments by Douglas Wheeler, and the sculptural interventions of Jene Highstein.
The exhibition provides an understanding of the radical approach of Giuseppe Panza as a collector, but more importantly, it constitutes a paradigm for collecting as a creative endeavour in which collector and artists participate equally in a common philosophical quest.
Recommended for you
Hauser & Wirth is proud to present, 鈥極n Collecting. Panza Collection Archives鈥. This exhibition, project space and series of events explore the archives and practices of Giuseppe and Giovanna Panza, the internationally renowned collectors who, over more than five decades, built an extraordinary contemporary art collection including works by minimal and conceptual artists from both America and Europe.
The presentation features archival material presented for the first time and a series of plywood paintings by Ford Beckman. Sol LeWitt鈥檚 鈥榃all Drawing No.54鈥 (1970) will be realised during the exhibition as a performative action in the gallery space. A screening and series of public talks over the course of the exhibition expands on the topic of collecting as a concept.
From the 1950s, Giuseppe Panza played a fundamental role in introducing American art movements to the museums of Europe. Dr. Panza was known for the pioneering and rigorous approach taken to all aspects of the collecting process. These fascinating archives bring to life the methods of selecting the artworks, their meticulous documentation in the space, the correspondence with the artists, the precision of his curatorial approach and the modes of display in both the domestic environment and institutional spaces.
The archival materials have been organised in rows reminiscent of the reading room of a library to reflect that for Giuseppe Panza, art was a philosophical pursuit for truth and exhibiting art was a vehicle for communicating knowledge. The study room is simultaneously an exhibiting model and a curatorial approach. The archive material on view has been divided into four categories: books and research materials; documentation of the artworks and correspondence with the artists; Giuseppe Panza鈥檚 personal drawings and photographs and, lastly, his unrealised projects.
Panza鈥檚 documentation of the artworks and his correspondence with artists, features archive material such as letters from Hanne Darboven, the chromatic prototypes of Phillip Sims, the drawings and notebooks of Lawrence Carroll, the correspondence with Ford Beckman, the invitations and photographic reports of David Simpson and the photographic reports of Richard Nonas鈥檚 sculptures.
Included in the presentation are Giuseppe Panza鈥檚 personal drawings and his own photographs of skies which were a source of inspiration leading him to collect a series of monochromes. This section also includes curatorial studies for the installation of the Panza Collection in Sassuolo, Italy, and in Albright Knox in Buffalo, USA. Another section documents Giuseppe Panza鈥檚 role as a pioneer of Land and Environmental art and the unrealised projects he was working on within this genre. He supported the crater projects by James Turrell, two environments by Douglas Wheeler, and the sculptural interventions of Jene Highstein.
The exhibition provides an understanding of the radical approach of Giuseppe Panza as a collector, but more importantly, it constitutes a paradigm for collecting as a creative endeavour in which collector and artists participate equally in a common philosophical quest.
Contact details
Related articles
Joe Tilson invades Venice, Helsinki unveils a subterranean culture hub and the prestige art scene finds no takers for Nigel Farage 鈥 all in our weekly dispatch
With galleries reopening after the summer break, a guide to the best of the new season shows in the capital