Derived from some of the most fundamental works from the late George Wong’s collection of Italian contemporary art, CHALLENGING BEAUTY—Insights into Italian Contemporary Art offers a view of the diversity of artistic practice within the field of contemporary creation; while taking into account the geographical specificity of four emblematic art movements that took root in Italy.

The trajectory of CHALLENGING BEAUTY—Insights into Italian Contemporary Art begins with the conceptual experiments and radical revisiting of avant-garde idealism in the Arte Povera movement; and is followed by the re-emergence of metaphorical images and the eclectic, painterly practices of the Transavantgarde. After which, the exhibition moves on to spotlight the more recent artistic practices of Italian contemporary art: from the aesthetics of The New Roman School, which is based on the reinterpretation of cultural metaphors and the re-exploration of the tradition of Mannerism, to the critical representation of human existentialism and the anthropological examination of the conditions of contemporary society by the younger generation artists.

Despite the heterogeneity in the tendencies, personalities, and the art movements featured in the exhibition, the works from this particular collection of the late George Wong reflect his personal taste and convictions on the notions of beauty and responsibility. CHALLENGING BEAUTY—Insights into Italian Contemporary Art deepens the vision of Italian contemporary art and offers a complex and interrogative image of the visual art in Italy, seen through the eyes of a collector driven by conviction, love, knowledge and above all, his passion for art.

Exhibiting Artists: Aldo Mondino, Alighiero Boetti, Bruno Ceccobelli, Carla Mattii, Enzo Cucchi, Felice Levini, Francesco Clemente, Francesco Sena, Gianni Dessi, Giuseppe Gallo, Giuseppe Penone, Guglielmo Castelli, Jannis Kounellis, Marco Tirelli, Marina Paris, Mario Merz, Mario Schifano, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Mimmo Paladino, Nicola De Maria, Nunzio (Di Stefano), Paolo Canevari, Paolo Grassino, Pierluigi Pusole, Pizzi Cannella, Roberto Barni, Salvo (Salvatore Mangione), Sandro Chia, Ugo Giletta