REINVENTING LANGUAGE

On the occasion of the centenary of the birth of Gastone Novelli, the French Academy in Rome – Villa Medici and the Novelli Archive will host a meeting on 16 January 2025, from 6pm to 8pm, dedicated to the influence of the works of artist on French writers. The event will be held in the Grand Salon of Villa Medici, in Italian, with free entry upon reservation.

The event brings together a prestigious panel of Italian and French specialists – Marco Rinaldi, Davide Crosara, Andrea Cortellessa and Mireille Calle-Gruber – to delve deeper into the complex relationships between image and writing developed by Novelli and shared with authors such as Georges Bataille, Claude Simon and Pierre Klossowski.

From the 1950s onwards, Gastone Novelli gave rise to an intense exploration of the links between visual and written language, finding inspiration in the literary movements of late surrealism and the French Nouveau Roman. His artistic research was nourished by encounters with prominent figures such as Samuel Beckett, Georges Bataille and Claude Lévi-Strauss, initiating collaborations that produced graphic works and unique books, not simply illustrated but reinterpreted through his chromatic and sign poetics.

This dialogue will represent a significant opportunity to explore Novelli’s role as a trait d’union between Italy and France, between visual innovation and narrative, between the language of modernity and the echo of myth.

To participate in the meeting, booking is required, available via the Villa Medici website at the link https://www.ticketlandia.com/m/event/novelli-it