Nanni Valentini – Face and Place

Nanni Valentini, poet of matter

MUSMA – Museum of Contemporary Sculpture in Matera, housed in the 16th-century Palazzo Pomarici in the Sasso Caveoso district, dedicates a temporary exhibition to Nanni Valentini (Sant'Angelo in Vado, 1932 – Vimercate, 1985), one of the leading figures of European sculpture in the second half of the 20th century. Trained as a ceramicist, sculptor, painter, and engraver, Valentini made matter the focus of his poetic research.

"Face and Place": material heads and the idea of home

The exhibition "Face and Place" brings together material heads and sculpted faces by the artist. The theme of the home, along with that of the hearth, represents the pinnacle of Valentini's reflection on the idea of place: matter evokes deep memories, and the face becomes an element of collective identity. The works enter into dialogue with "Il Focolare", a work from the museum's permanent collection, and with the local tuff stone, creating a sensory experience that connects historical matter with contemporary experimentation.

MUSMA's twentieth anniversary

The exhibition is part of the year in which MUSMA celebrates its twentieth anniversary, coinciding with Matera's title of Mediterranean Capital of Culture and Dialogue 2026. The museum interprets the anniversary through the metaphor of wind as transformation, regeneration, and rebirth, with a rich program that includes the "Cambiamento" project for reactivating the permanent collection, artist residencies, and new acquisitions.

A unique museum in the Sassi

MUSMA is the most important Italian museum entirely dedicated to contemporary sculpture and is also a "cave" museum: part of the exhibition route winds through the hypogea carved into the rock, in a continuous dialogue between the artwork and the landscape of the Sassi. The event is supported by the Municipality of Matera and local cultural institutions.