The exhibition falls within the scope of the “Montecassino 529-2029” project, and for the 2023 exhibition season the Abbot of Montecassino, Dom Luca Fallica and prof. Roberto Capitanio chose the works of Alan Bee. There are approximately thirty works that will be hosted within the rooms of the abbey museum, works that were made available by the family of the German artist who passed away in 2018.
THE PROJECT
In 2029 the ancient Benedictine monastery will reach its 1500th anniversary since its foundation by Saint Benedict in 529. The “Montecassino 529-2029” project, which began in 2019, aims to “represent” through a series of art exhibitions contemporary some important moments in the life of the Patron Saint of Europe and the lessons that can be drawn from them - with the exception of the 2019 theme which on the 75th anniversary of the destruction of the Abbey recalled the motto linked to its rebirth: 2019:
Succisa Virescit
2020/2021: He lived with himself
2022: The Immovable Boulder
2023: Working togetherThe exhibitions were therefore designed to mark the years that separate from 2029, recalling from time to time a passage from the Rule of Saint Benedict.
THE TITLE
The choice to exhibit Alan Bee's works this year arises from the strong call to collaboration expressed in the works of the German artist and which unequivocally refers to Benedictine thought, as declared by Dom Luca Fallica: «In Chapter 11 of the Book II of the Dialogues of Saint Gregory the Great contains the episode in which Saint Benedict gives life back to a young monk crushed by the rubble of a collapsed wall. At the conclusion of the miracle, Gregory comments: " Within the same hour he sent the healthy and robust boy back to work as before, so that together with the other monks he could finish the construction of the wall ".This idea seems interesting to me: the miracle does not only consist in giving life back to the young monk, but in defeating the adversary, the devil, who tries to compromise the community work of the monks. Benedict brings the dead man back to life, allowing him to return to work "together with the other monks". And this community work seems to me to be an idea that emerges from Bee's "hives" and from the community organization of bees in general."The sort of 'contamination' between ancient and contemporary which began in 2019 and which for five years now has intrigued visitors and art enthusiasts who, in the Abbey museum, alongside the precious treasures bearing witness to 1500 years of history, find works of important artists on the national and international contemporary scene.
ALAN BEE
Alan Bee is the pseudonym of a well-known German industrialist and finance man born in Karlsfeld 1940 and died in Munich in 2018. For decades Bee accompanied his official activities, as well as art collecting, with a secret and intense passion for painting. At his disposal, he authorized the diffusion of his works only after his death, continuing to maintain strict confidentiality about his true identity.
Bee has always combined his passion for painting with a passion for bees and their world. A nature lover from Bavaria, influenced at a young age by Joseph Beuys' experiences with honey, he mediated them with the profound sense of materials and object insertions, drawing completely surprising results.
The pseudonym Bee, as you can imagine, therefore alludes to the anonymous German's passion for bees and their fascinating world.An interest, that for the beehive - also understood as a place of cooperation for intense and systematic work - which finds its revelation on the canvas, manifesting itself with the repetition of the hexagonal model of the honeycomb. But Bee's reasoning is not limited only to the physical perimeter of the painted surface but embraces the entire artistic community and its need to grow compact and supportive thanks to the nourishment that art itself can provide.
DATES
The exhibition will be available every day from 17 September to 29 October 2023. At the Vernissage, scheduled for Saturday 16 September 2023 at 4.00 pm, the Abbot of Montecassino, Dom Luca Fallica, prof. Roberto Capitanio, curator of the exhibition, the artist's family members and representatives of the Alan Bee Foundation, and the military and civil authorities of the area as well as all art enthusiasts and the Abbey Museum - Contemporary Art combination.
USEFUL INFORMATION
WORKING TOGETHER
PAINTINGS AND SCULPTURES BY ALAN BEE
CURATED BY ROBERTO CAPITANIO
MONTECASSINO ABBEY MUSEUM
09.16.2023 | 29.10.2023
INAUGURATION SATURDAY 16.09.2023 | 4.00 PM
MUSEUM OF THE ABBEY OF MONTECASSINO (FR)
INFO: +39-0776 311529
[email protected]
