As art lovers and advocates, it is our mission to create further recognition of postwar and contemporary Italian art. Our passion for Italian art began in the early 1990s as Giorgio and I began to explore modern Italian art in depth. As luck would have it, we were introduced to a highly educated curator and gallerist, Sauro Bocchi, who suggested we visit Castello di Rivoli in Turin. Our visit coincided with a comprehensive exhibition on the Arte Povera movement, a movement which began in the mid-1960s. We were captivated and intrigued by the materiality and physicality of the artwork. Thus we began a journey which would become the focus of our lives.
As we continued to study this avant-garde movement, we began to acquire work for our home. After many years we had assembled a significant number of artworks, including many pieces which were very large in scale. Not wanting to keep artworks in storage out of the public eye, we decided to acquire a space near our home in the Hudson Valley to serve as a warehouse, magazzino in Italian, where we could display and share the artworks with those who may be interested.
After an extensive renovation and construction of an addition designed by architect Miguel Quismondo, Magazzino Italian Art opened in Cold Spring, New York on June 25, 2017.
Little did Giorgio and I dream at the outset that Magazzino would garner the interest and attention that it has. What began as an intimate private initiative has become in a few years a full-fledged public museum and foundation. As such we feel a great responsibility to offer high quality exhibitions and a variety of programming as well as an extensive research center which houses over 6,000 publications and archival material. In this regard, we sponsor a research scholar annually to pursue further investigation of Italian art history.
In the spirit of traditional Italian hospitality, we feel that Magazzino is an extension of our home and encourage visitors to take advantage to explore the art, the grounds, and last but not least, to say hello to our unique miniature Sardinian donkeys.
We are extremely grateful to the local community for their continued support and patronage and to Vittorio Calabrese, Director, and the Team of Magazzino for their enthusiasm and dedication. In addition, we are very fortunate and grateful to have the opportunity to share our knowledge and passion for art, architecture, and design with a wide public.
Nancy Olnick and Giorgio Spanu