The Second Collection. From Balla to Tadini
curated by Federico Crimi

Civico Museo Parisi Valle
Saturday, 6 December 2025, 5:00 pm
Exhibition opening

A VOCATION FOR CONTEMPORARY ART

The Civico Museo Parisi Valle presents The Second Collection. From Balla to Tadini, a new exhibition dedicated to the works acquired by the Museum after the original donation by the artist Giuseppe Parisi and Renata Valle, the founding core that initiated the institution’s activity and has shaped its vocation for contemporary art since its very beginning.

The exhibition, which symbolically closes 2025 and ideally opens 2026—a year the Museum will dedicate entirely to contemporary art—traces the evolution of the collection through works acquired over the years and now an integral part of the Museum’s identity. A journey that highlights the choices, directions, and visions that have contributed to defining the character of the institution.

Through a significant selection of works spanning different languages and generations—from historical figures such as Giacomo Balla to key artists of the second half of the twentieth century like Emilio Tadini—the exhibition conveys the image of a collection in constant transformation.

The exhibition project highlights the vitality of a Museum that, while firmly rooted in its history, has maintained a strong connection with contemporary artistic research over time, renewing the dialogue between heritage and experimentation. The works presented testify to the care with which the Museum has built, over the years, a collection capable of embracing multiple visions and artists.

Artists featured in the exhibition include: Arnaldo Pomodoro, Franco Rognoni, Floriano Bodini, Luca Crippa, Trento Longaretti, Marcello Morandini, Vittore Frattini, the Madì Group (Giuseppe Bertolio, Gianfranco Nicolato, Piergiorgio Zangara), Elena Mezzadra, Bernard Aubertin, Giacomo Benevelli, Giovanni Blandino, Nino Cassani, Gianfranco Ossola, Antonio Pedretti, Flavio Costantini, Ayako Nakamiya, Paolo Schiavocampo, Romano Rizzato, Antonio Pizzolante, Gottardo Ortelli, Mario Raciti, Piero Cicoli, Massimo Falsaci.

BETWEEN ROOTS AND THE FUTURE

Born from the Parisi-Valle Donation, the history of the Museum has always been marked by a strong openness toward contemporary art. The works in this “second collection” confirm this identity, demonstrating the continuity of a vocation that has accompanied the institution since its origins.

The exhibition not only retraces the stages of an evolving collection, but also anticipates the directions of the 2026 program—a year entirely dedicated to contemporaneity, to the enhancement of the collection, and to its role within the cultural landscape of the region.

The exhibition layout and the dialogue among the works were selected by students from the 3rd and 5th classes of the “A. Frattini” Art High School in Varese as part of the project “L’arte di allestire” (tutor: Professor Cristina Cipolla), with the valuable contribution of expertise and sensitivity by Rosaria Mandetta.

Maccagno, 29 November 2025

EXHIBITION INFO

THE SECOND COLLECTION. FROM BALLA TO TADINI
Opening: Saturday, 6 December 2025, 5:00 pm
Duration: from 7 December 2025 to 15 March 2026

Opening hours:
Fri / 2:30 pm – 6:30 pm
Sat > Sun / 2:30 pm – 6:30 pm

Venue: Civico Museo Parisi Valle
Via Leopoldo Giampaolo, 1
Maccagno con Pino e Veddasca (Varese)

[Free admission]

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Poster (click to enlarge)

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