Daniela Fonti, born in Rome, is a historian of art and architecture, art critic and journalist enrolled in the Register of Publicists of Rome and Lazio, expert in museum-related issues.
DOCENCE
after teaching at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome and Florence (from 1985), he was from 2000 to 2014 professor of History of Contemporary Art at the Faculty of Architecture,”Sapienza”, Rome. Among the experiences carried out in the field of research in the didactic field, it is worth mentioning the conception and management from 2002 to 2006 of the Master’s Degree in Management for Curators in the Museums of Contemporary Art and Architecture activated at the Faculty of Architecture Valle Giulia. This was the first course of its kind to be held in an Italian university, then taken up in the scheme by many other similar ones for the successful synergy between the University and the other partners involved (the MACRO in Rome and MAXXI). From 1989 to 2000 he was correspondent from Rome of the “Giornale dell’ Arte” (Turin, Editore Umberto Allemandi) with whom he resumed the collaboration from 2014.
RESEARCH AND CONNOISSEURSHIP
(ARKING FUTURIST ARTISTA FUTURISTA GINO SEVERINI)
After graduating from university (with G. C. Argan) he devoted himself to research by publishing numerous essays on architecture and urbanism in Rome, the Roman artistic culture between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, specializing later in Italian art of the twentieth century. In this context, he has curated important national exhibitions of artists such as Alberto Savinio, Mario Sironi, Duilio Cambellotti, Fortunato Depero, Ernesto Thayaht, Enrico Prampolini, Carlo Levi and Gino Severini for Italian and international public venues and museums.
The publication of the Reasoned Catalogue of Gino Severini’s painting work (Milan, Mondadori, 1988) has given her the role of international expert in ascertaining the autography of the Futurist Master’s works, due to the undisputed scientific prestige acknowledged in the publication. In this capacity, on the basis of the Archive that she collected over decades on the painter’s activity, she has curated several important monographic exhibitions dedicated to Severini. The most recent are
Gino Severini. Dance “, Venice, Peggy Guggenheim Collection, 26 May-28 October 2001;” Gino Severini (1883-1966)”(with Gabriella Belli), Paris, Musée de l’ Orangerie, 27 April-25 July 2011, Rovereto, MART, September 2011-January 2012; Fondazione Magnani Rocca (Parma) March-July 2016.
FOUNDATION CAR LEVI
Since 2012, he has been President of the Carlo Levi Foundation established in Rome on 26 June 1975, by will of the artist, and recognized as a moral institution in 1979, the main purpose of the Foundation is to protect and enhance the figure of Carlo Levi, through the conservation and promotion of his heritage made up of pictorial and literary material.
The pictorial collection is made up of about 800 works (paintings and papers) and allows to analyze and understand the whole artistic path smooth from the beginning, to the mature age, until the last years.
The Foundation’s activities are aimed at promoting and enhancing the literary and pictorial work of the Master, without forgetting other passions such as political, poetic and journalistic. To this end, it has promoted a series of cultural initiatives such as conferences, seminars, anthological and collective exhibitions in Italy and abroad, either autonomously or in collaboration with important public and private institutions.
ART CRITICS
Since 1994 he has been working alongside his historical-artistic activity as an art critic attentive to the events of the most stringent contemporaneity.
From 1997 to 2000 he designed and curated the realization for the Municipality of Rome in the green spaces of Villa Glori, The Museum Park of Contemporary Sculpture of Villa Glori with great installations by 11 international artists, (N. Caruso, E. Mattiacci, J. Kounellis, M. Dompè, M. Mochetti, Nunzio, M. Staccioli, P. Castagna, F. Purini, Giuseppe Uncini,. In 2003 she oversaw the design of the monumental installation “Amina for peace”, created by the sculptor Maria Dompé in Piazza del Campidoglio in Rome, for 8 March of that year.
In 2005, he chaired the National Competition Commission for the design and construction of the Nassiriya War Memorial Monument (Rome, Schuster Park on the Via Ostiense,) won by sculptor Giuseppe Spagnulo and the Agazzi Architetti group.
On the subject of deepening the work of 20th century Italian masters, he conceived and realized – among other things – the great anthological exhibition “Gino Severini: La Danza” at the Peggy Guggenheim Foundation in Venice (May 2001). He curated the decorative arts section of the exhibition “Les années’ 50 à Rome”, (Italian Association of European Arts for the Italian semester of Presidency EEC, Museé de Beaux-Arts de Mons, La Belgique, 2003-2004); promoted the realization of the exhibition “La Bella Pittura 1900-1945”, with works by the major masters of the 20th century (2004, Palazzo di Montecitorio, Chamber of Deputies). More recently he created and curated the exhibition dedicated to the futurist artist Ernesto Thayaht (Rovereto, MART. 2005) and the monographic exhibition “Gino Severini 1883-1966” (Paris, Musée de l’ Orangerie – Rovereto, MART, 2011). He constantly collaborates with the Centre Pompidou (Paris, Metz) for Italian avant-garde artists and is one of the authors of essays in the catalogue of the exhibition “Futurism” currently open at the Guggenheim in New York.
Attentive to the importance of the museographic problems for the training of the architect, who has included in the teaching of the history of contemporary art, he edited with Rossella Caruso (2012) the volume Il Museo Contemporary. Expertise stories (Editore Gangemi, Rome), synthesis of reflections and lessons held during the four-year period of Management Management Management for Curators in the Museums of Contemporary Art and Architecture.