Dino Colalongo presents “the CROSS as SIGN” in the Chapter Hall of the abbey of Santa Maria Arabona, Manoppello (Pe), from the June Solstice to the September 2022 Equinox (21 June – 23 September).
The opening, which will take place in the gardens of the Church, is scheduled for the afternoon of Friday 1 July from 6.00 pm.
The exhibition project, curated by Miriam Di Francesco, comes to life starting from the dialogue between sacred art and contemporaneity in that “coming into dialogue with the world” on the part of the church, as recalled by Paul VI in Ecclesiam Suam. From its origins, Santa Maria Arabona represents the relationship with the history of the territory and its faithful, first with the pagan cult of the goddess Bona, a rural divinity idolized in the Abruzzo region, and subsequently, through construction processes, unfinished realizations and variations of use that, from 1208 to today, sees it as the protagonist of the encounter with the contemporaneity of every era.
The site-specific modular installations of the architect Dino Colalongo are born around the square cross architectural structure on which the construction of the abbey develops and from some peculiarities of the interior furnishings. The chapter house, adjacent to the church, will host three variations on the concept of the cross with different materials and techniques, while two cor-ten steel sculptures will be placed in the gardens of the abbey and always visible from the outside.
The material, object of Dino Colalongo’s artistic research, is the Maiella stone with which the church is built and from the idea of enhancing the tradition of stonemasons, Colalongo has collaborated with experts in stone processing. Franco Aceto was entrusted with the realization on stone of part of a work, according to the artist’s project. Stefano Faccini, Armando Di Nunzio and Dangyong Liu, stone sculptors who have long been involved in the “10 Days in Stone”, the international symposium of Lettomanoppello, were invited to participate with their own interpretation of modern capitals.
The exhibition project that was born as a relationship of Dino Colalongo with the geometries and spirituality of Santa Maria Arabona, at the same time, has the ambition to promote the dialogue of artists and churches in the area in the coexistence of spirituality with historical monuments through art. , the way of beauty.
The exhibition is sponsored by the Abruzzo Region, the Province of Pescara, the municipality of Manoppello and Lettomanoppello with the “10 Days in Stone”.
Dino Colalongo is an architect and designer. He was born in Manoppello (PE) on March 31, 1946 and graduated in Architecture in Pescara. He taught Painting Disciplines and Visual Education at the “Giuseppe Misticoni” State Art School in Pescara. Since 1967, Colalongo has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in Italy and abroad.
In recent years, Colalongo has exhibited at the Museo delle Genti d’Abruzzo with a solo show, in 2019; the following year, the “Aria Foundation” dedicated the first meeting of the “Specchio Arte” project to Dino Colalongo documented with a short film, video portrait and also in the volume “Crossroads Fondazione ARIA. Crossroads of artists and cultures “.
The exhibition can be visited at the following times: Tuesday and Thursday from 10.00 to 12.00, Wednesday from 16.00 to 18.00.
For information: dinocolalongo@virgilio.it – miriamdifrancesco@gmail.com