ROME.- An increasingly international art district: the artistic proposal of rhinoceros gallery
in palazzo rhinoceros in Rome overcomes the distances between continents and brings Italy and the United States closer together, the outpost between ancient and hypercontemporary conceived by Alda Fendi and designed by Jean Nouvel, with the artistic line of Raffaele Curi. The new invention of the Fondazione Alda Fendi – Esperimenti is a fascinating combination of our dear old Europe and the New World.

The experiment, visionary like all the experiments of the foundation, is entitled Lady Alda Presents and – from June 9th to November 19th 2023 – stratifies different forms, experiences and languages in the various exhibition floors of rhinoceros, the cultural center overlooking the Arch of Janus.

As always, admission is free, in via del Velabro 9A.

Three are the attractions of the palazzo.

First of all, a fantastic novelty.

To the delight of collectors, François Ghebaly arrives in Italy for the first time, with a group show in the rhinoceros gallery by the artists Neïl Beloufa, Ludovic Nkoth, Em Rooney and Max Hooper Schneider. This is the starting point of a partnership with prestigious and international commercial galleries, which will be periodically hosted in the ground floor spaces. “This exhibition will be of great interest to collectors”, says Alda Fendi.

Then, an important premiere. The Fondazione Alda Fendi – Esperimenti presents to the public a preview of Dino’s dark room. The story of the photographer Dino Pedriali, a docufilm by Corrado Rizza, celebrating the two precious collections of photographs by Pedriali owned by Alda Fendi: one dedicated to Man Ray and the other one to Pier Paolo Pasolini.

The third proposal is the installation Mr and Mrs Warhol by Raffaele Curi, spread throughout the rooms and passageways of the multifunctional hub a few steps from the Bocca della Verità.

After collaborating with the Gallerie degli Uffizi and the Hermitage, Palazzo rhinoceros revives Rome as a crossroad of art, freeing it from geographical boundaries and spatial limits, so as to speak a common and cosmopolitan language, capable of enhancing the richness of differences.

FRANÇOIS GHEBALY

With the exhibition of François Ghebaly’s artists, the rhinoceros Gallery inaugurates
a new path: pop-ups of international galleries that have never been present in Italy
before. This groundbreaking exhibition series directly connects New York, Los Angeles, and Rome. Over the past 15 years, gallerist François Ghebaly has operated three exhibition venues in the USA - two in Los Angeles, where it all began, and a third one in New York City.

Raised in France, not far from the lively cultural center of Basel, and after obtaining a degree in Economics, François Ghebaly moved to Los Angeles in the early 2000s when he was just twenty.

This marked the beginning of an entrepreneurial and remarkable journey.

In 2009, he established his gallery in Downtown Los Angeles and paved the way for an exciting change in the city’s art scene.

“I had no money”, he says, “but somehow, I managed to create something unique and build something”. Despite being told he wouldn’t last three months, he has become one of the most important and influential dealers in the US and international art scene.

In 2021, he expanded his gallery by opening a space in New York, and this year, he inaugurated a second experimental space in West Hollywood.

Ghebaly now represents significant and influential artists such as Neïl Beloufa, a visionary with a multidisciplinary practice; Ludovic Nkoth, a Cameroonian American painter; Em Rooney, a photographer committed to expanding the definition of the medium; and Max Hooper Schneider, a sculptor, theorist, and scientist.

These are the artists that Ghebaly is now bringing to the rhinoceros gallery in Rome. While Rooney and Hooper Schneider recently joined his team, Beloufa has been working with him since the very beginning.

Ghebaly organized one of Beloufa’s first exhibitions in his gallery back in 2009, which launched both of their careers.

The artist, who was relatively unknown at the time, is now internationally acclaimed and has had solo exhibitions at renowned institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Palais de Tokyo in Paris.

“When I start representing an artist”, explains Ghebaly, “the idea is to work with them on a long-term basis. It’s about building enduring careers.

What defines my program is a genuine interest in deeply engaging with the artists’ practices and creating fearless, ambitious, and radical exhibitions”,“François Ghebaly is a young man who loves novelties and is curious about challenges. He lives with one foot in the present and the other in the future.

He immediately shared the collaboration proposal, favouring the artistic vision, without dwelling too much on the formal and technical aspects.

He seemed enthusiastic and eager to embark on a new and unusual initiative. We were surprised by the fact that he had never been to Rome in his life and this is the right time!”, says Alessia Caruso Fendi, director of rhinoceros gallery.