Dear Guests, it is with great honor and joy that my wife Sabina and I welcome you today to celebrate together the Italian Contemporary Art Day.
This event, now in its twentieth edition, represents a cornerstone of the Italian cultural scene, thanks to the invaluable commitment of the Association of Contemporary Art Museums and the support of the Ministries of Culture and Foreign Affairs.
With great pride, we celebrate this year’s Contemporary Art Day with a digital work of Maestro Franz Cerami.
Hosting this event in this residence and garden holds special meaning to us. In fact, as many of you may know, this Residence is deeply tied to both Japanese history and culture and Italian contemporary art and architecture.
Its history is rooted in the Japanese Edo period when it was the residence of the powerful Matsudaira family. In that period, it was the site of the seppuku of ten of the legendary 47 ronin. In the Meiji era, this garden was the residence of Masayoshi Matsukata, a famous Japanese political figure and then became the Embassy of Italy in 1930.
This Residence is also one of the earliest examples abroad where Italian contemporary art is embraced in a public building. In fact, when it was rebuilt in the mid 60s, architect Chiara Briganti had the vision to decorate it with works by great Italian abstract masters, creating a collection that still enriches these rooms today. Looking around, you can admire works by artists such as Fontana, Castellani, Burri, Perilli, Dorazio, Novelli, Turcato, Santomaso, Maselli, Giò and Arnaldo Pomodoro. A small museum!
This connection between diplomacy and contemporary art was further strengthened in the year 2000, when the Ministry of Foreign Affairs established the “Farnesina Art Collection” permanently displaying the best of Italian contemporary art in the Ministry’s corridors and rooms, including some works by Franz Cerami. Last year, we had the honor of exhibiting a selection of these works here in Tokyo.
But Italy is not only a cultural superpower. We are also very proud of our tradition of creative, innovative and technological people and the digital contemporary art projection by Franz Cerami that we are going to enjoy tonight represents a perfect dialogue between tradition and innovation, past and present. It uses lights, colors, and music to create an immersive experience that transcends temporal and cultural boundaries.
Locus Amoenus, is the first light installation in this historic garden and it is part of a broader project of preservation and enhancement that we started upon my arrival in Tokyo, in cooperation with Italian and Japanese professors, Nishikigoi breeders, and the local authorities of Minato-ku, with whom we will open this garden to the public three times a year.
This commitment to public diplomacy reflects the Action Plan agreed upon by Prime Ministers Meloni and Kishida last June, which aims to further strengthen the relations between Italy and Japan, also through culture and people-to-people exchanges.
Franz Cerami’s work will transform the garden into a Locus Amoenus, a space that, for the ancient Romans, represented the ideal of peace and harmony. This installation, with its visual elements, will also pay homage to the historical legacy of the garden, creating an extraordinary dialogue between Japanese tradition and Italian contemporary art.
I wish you an evening brightened by the beauty of art and the magic of the encounter between two extraordinary cultures, peoples and Countries, Italy and Japan.