Contemporary Italian artists at the Adriano Ribolzi Gallery

The public has only a few more weeks to discover an exceptional exhibition of four contemporary Italian artists currently on show at the Adriano Ribolzi Gallery in Monaco.

Galerie Adriano Ribolzi was inaugurated in 1974 at Avenue des Beaux-Arts and specialised in French and continental furniture of the 17th and 18th centuries, as well as various paintings, sculptures and objets d’art.

In 1998, the gallery moved to Avenue de l’Hermitage and was inaugurated in the presence of Prince Rainier III and Albert of Monaco. Since 2010, the gallery has been organising temporary exhibitions, including a dedicated summer exhibition, such as the Andy Warhol exhibition in 2013.

This year, the Adriano Ribolzi Gallery is showcasing the works of four Italian artists: Mario Schifano, Sergio Fermariello, Pablo Atchugarry and Fabio Viale.

Mario Schifano (1934 to 1998) was a close friend of Andy Warhol and is best known for his Postmodern collages combining advertising imagery, wrapping paper and painted elements. His work often referred to popular culture or art history featuring well known brand logos or kitsch recurring motifs in the vein of Pop-Art. Constantly adapting to contemporary culture, Schifano worked in numerous media, shifting between film, music or photography, often employing more than one at a time. He is considered to be one of the most significant and pre-eminent artists of Italian postmodernism and the gallery will feature around 30 of his works for viewing and purchase.

Pablo Atchugarry, In the Way of Harmony

Pablo Atchugarry, born in 1954, is a contemporary sculptor known for his marble works which resemble the monoliths of early civilizations. Considered a major contemporary sculptor, his works are included in many high collections, both private and public, and he has held more than one hundred solo and collective exhibitions worldwide.

The collection by Sergio Fermariello, born in 1961, reveals his obsessive repetition of the warrior figure.

Sergio Fermariello

While the youngest of the four, 44-year-old Fabio Viale, applies a unique approach to the art of traditional sculpture, looking at the old and familiar in new ways. With a remarkable technical mastery of marble, the artist creates accurate and intricate replicas of everyday objects and life-size Venuses or Madonnas, with the texture and appearance of Styrofoam, paper, rubber or tattooed skin.

The artists’ works will be on show at the Adriano Ribolzi Gallery until 31st August.

Read also: Ribolzi Gallery exhibits prominent Italian contemporary works

Riviera forges new relationship with China

Nice Côte d’Azur airport has welcomed its first direct flight from China. The new route is considered a major boost not only to tourism in the French Riviera and Monaco, it will also help facilitate business opportunities in region.

On Friday 2nd August, Nice Côte d’Azur airport welcomed Air China’s A330-200, the first Chinese airline to open a direct line between China and Nice.

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On hand to celebrate the inaugural flight were Bernard Gonzalez, Prefect of the Alpes-Maritimes, Jinsong, Minister at the Chinese Embassy in France, Christian Estrosi, Mayor of Nice, president of Metropole Nice Côte d’Azur and vice-president of the southern region, Chinese actor Liu Ye as ambassador of tourism of the Côte d’Azur in China and honorary citizen of the city of Nice, and Tan Huamin, vice president of Air China.

Mayor of Nice Christian Estrosi, centre, during the official welcoming ceremony with a host of officials @aeroportsdelacotedazur/jeromekelagopian

“It is a great honour to become the first airport in France, after Paris, to connect our territory to China, the world’s leading source of tourists,” said Dominique Thillaud, CEO of Aéroports de la Côte d’Azur. “This new road represents many economic opportunities for the Côte d’Azur, and more broadly the entire southern region, and participates fully in strengthening its attractiveness throughout the world. The confidence shown by Air China in our territory is an honour to us and, above all, obliges us to make this development a success.”

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In 2018, the Nice Côte d’Azur airport received 83,000 indirect passengers from China, including 53,000 Chinese nationals. In the last five years, passenger traffic from Beijing has increased by 51%, a sign of growing interest from Chinese tourists to the Riviera.

During the summer of 2018, the airport doubled its long-haul destinations, with the addition of a direct link to Kuwait and another to China. Now positioned in the heart of a network connecting 23 airports in France to nearly 100 international destinations, Nice Côte d’Azur has asserted itself as a real alternative to major European hubs.

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This situation was reinforced in June with the launch of a new self-connecting service called Nice Connect, allowing all travellers to combine any flight, from any company and terminal, with more than 23,000 possible combinations per week in high season.

 

 

A summer of sport at the Port of Monaco

Monaco is encouraging everyone to get active with a host of fun free sports on offer this summer at Port Hercule.

Mayor Georges Marsan with, from left to right, the Deputy Delegate for Sports and Associations Jacques Pastor, Arnaud Giusti, Head of the Municipal Sports Department and Associations, and Anthony Christophe, player with AS Monaco Basket, on the 3×3 basketball court installed on the Port of Monaco. Photo credit: Monaco City Council

In addition to the pergolas, shade sails and rides for the kids, sport is a major part of this year’s summer activities offered by the Monaco City Council.

An electric kart circuit is open every day from 3pm to midnight. Families are encouraged to enjoy the activity with dedicated “baby” karts available for the young ones aged over three.

Two basketball courts have also been set up on the Quai Albert I, one is an inflatable structure for children, with free access from 4pm to 9pm, and another is a hard 3×3 structure with a slot from 6pm to 7pm reserved for introductory sessions supervised by a coach.

On Friday 2nd August at 6pm a friendly tournament will be held with teams from different groups in the Principality, while Saturday 3rd August from 2pm to 6pm will see the FIBA 3×3 Satellite Tournament, with international professional players fighting it out for a tournament win​​. 3×3 involves six players in total on a half basketball court – 3 against 3. It incorporates specific rules to make the game fast and fun, and there will be plenty of music to set the energetic mood.

The August 3rd tournament will qualify for the Rimini Beach FIBA ​​3×3 Challenger Tournament on August 19th and 20th (professional level of the FIBA ​​3×3 circuit) as well as for the 3×3 Master Tournament, the highest level of the 3×3 professional circuit. Taking part will be Jeep Elite players Antoine Eito and Jo Passav-Ducteil, and and even France’s national under 23 3×3 team. Entrance is free.

Another sport which has been in full swing for a few years is padel. Derived from tennis, padel requires a smaller pitch, framed by walls and/or fences, and is played in doubles only. The public has access to the temporary court currently located on Quai Albert I every day from 2pm to 9pm until 25th August. Access is free.

Student exhibition at Pavillion Bosio

The graduating class of Monaco’s Fine Arts College, Pavillion Bosio, are presenting the first in a series of public exhibitions entitled Paysages Empruntés (Borrowed Landscapes). The works are on display in the Salle Marcel Kroenlein at the Exotic Garden of Monaco. 

The eight students used a variety of digital technologies, including YouTube tutorials, mapping, and videos from the web to create their displays, drawing on what they’ve learned over the course of their studies and using these techniques to create the space based on the idea of a shared moment.

This innovative, fresh and thoroughly modern way of looking at and defining art is a road map for future students, as well as the art world as whole.

Students at Pavillion Bosio. Photo: Mairie de Monaco

The exhibit is open from 9am to 1pm, and again in the afternoons from 2pm to 5pm daily until 15th September.