Events

Burma. The Art of Sawangwongse Yawnghwe between Burma and Europe. 

The exhibition, curated by Max Seidel and Serena Calamai, on show from 21 September to 3 November in the rooms of the Complesso monumentale di San Micheletto, presents a selection of over sixty works by the artist, dedicated to the bitter and interminable conflict between tyranny and democracy that has involved Burma for over half a century. Sawang depicts the disasters of war through symbolic images, inspired by Goya. 

The art of Sawang, who is active on the international scene with exhibitions in Taiwan, Germany, the USA, Israel and the Netherlands, becomes a witness to the suffering of oppressed peoples. This exhibition brings together some extraordinarily powerful examples, in which the artist succeeds in moulding into figurative language the profound historical essence of the Burmese drama: on the one hand the peaceful struggle of the Buddhist monks, on the other the violence of the military junta.

In addition to the artist's works inspired by the political history of his home country, the exhibition devotes ample space to a cycle of works in which Sawang reflects on important themes in modern European painting, confronting our cultural tradition from a spatially distant but intensely felt perspective, which adds depth to his work. Part of the exhibition hosts a selection of works that explore the transition from figuration to abstractionism, drawing inspiration from Honoré de Balzac's ‘Le Chef-d'œuvre inconnu’, and other works that reflect the great conflict between art and life, described by Émile Zola in ‘L'Œuvre’ in 1886.

The exhibition can be visited from Tuesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Free entrance on Saturday 12 October on the occasion of the Giornata del Contemporaneo (Contemporary Art Day) promoted by AMACI (Association of Italian Contemporary Art Museums).

Fondazione Centro Studi sull'Arte Licia e Carlo Ludovico Ragghianti
fondazioneragghianti.it
Tel. +39 0583 467205 - info@fondazioneragghianti.it