Galleria Lia Rumma is pleased to present Forza lavoro (Work force), a solo exhibition by Marzia Migliora, opening at the gallery in Milan at 7 p.m. on 18 February 2016.
The project takes its inspiration from the history of the Palazzo del Lavoro in Turin, which was designed by Pier Luigi Nervi to celebrate the 1961 centenary of the Unification of Italy. It was part of an international exhibition dedicated to work, curated by Gio Ponti. This glorious beginning was followed by years of neglect and decay, ultimately leading to the 47,000-square-metre building being abandoned.
In a period of transition for the building, which included a serious fire in August 2015 and the imminent transformation of the building into a luxury shopping mall, Marzia Migliora has chosen to frequent the Palazzo in a number of different ways. The artist has given body and word to the building, turning it into a privileged observer of an era, and her individual works link it to many of the recurring themes in her artistic research: memory as a tool for articulating the present and an analysis of work as a statement of participation in society.
Thanks go to Francesca Comisso and Liliana Dematteis of the Archivio Gallizio for their assistance and support in making the Vita Activa video, which first arose from an invitation to create a project that would interact with the work by Pinot Gallizio. Thanks go to Fondazione Merz and Proprietà Pentagramma Piemonte for the precious collaboration.
