Coming Together

The many strands of things involved in organising an exhibition are beginning to come together. The number and variety of works coming over is exciting to say the least. When I first set out to invite New Zealand artists to join me in this project I was a little anxious about how many would accept the challenge of getting work to Italy, of completing quality works in a tight time frame, and of the cost involved for travelling artists. Now that we are 41, with a large number travelling, I am hoping that the venue will be large enough. A friend is on the look-out for an additional venue, and I know that if all else fails we will be able to put some work in the Historiale di Cassino, an interesting place which aims to give some experience of the battle - the promotional material describes it as "not a museum, not an exhibition, not a film but a physical experience". Unfortunately for our purposes it is out of the way of foot traffic. Tourists rather than locals would see any work located there. Visiting artists will be welcomed to this "museum" during their stay in the Cassino area.

The painting above is one that I didn't ever quite complete before the museum Cassino War Memorial, where I was the designated "madrina" and a volunteer docent, lost its premises. Most of the exhibits went back to the private collections from whence they came, while those donated to the museum, along with my paintings, went into storage. In the early days of the planning for Legato I reassured myself that if there were not enough works coming from New Zealand I could pull my two large works out of storage and give them an airing for the two weeks. It certainly wont be necessary!

This work (above), oil on canvas, 180cm x180cm is the destroyed campanile or bell tower, the focal point of old Cassino with the beautiful old church and piazza, the bell tower being the image representing Cassino before the war.