NIVOLA vis-à-vis
The exhibition programme continues with two new exhibitions and a reinstallation of the permanent collection
Ruth Guggenheim Nivola. Sculture leggere
Munari e Regina. Le affinità concrete
Collezione. Capitolo primo. Andando
29 November 2026 – 21 March 2027
At the Museo Nivola in Orani (Nuoro), Nivola vis-à-vis continues: an exhibition programme conceived by director Chiara Gatti to explore previously unexamined aspects of Costantino Nivola’s (1911–1988) artistic research, placing it in dialogue with the era in which he lived, the movements he embraced and the people whose paths crossed his own, whether in reality or in spirit.
Launched in July 2026 with the exhibition Nivola, Colombo and the Space Around, the project continues from 29 November 2026 to 21 March 2027 with two new exhibitions: Ruth Guggenheim Nivola. Sculture leggere and Munari e Regina. Le affinità concrete. Alongside them is a reinstallation of the permanent collection, Collezione. Capitolo primo. Andando, curated by the Museo Nivola team with the advice of architect Alessandro Floris and designer Leonardo Sonnoli.Completing this wide-ranging exhibition programme is the major retrospective Costantino Nivola. Scolpire il vento, curated by Cecilia Alemani and dedicated to the Sardinian artist by Triennale Milano from 11 November 2026 to 14 February 2027, to which the Museo Nivola is contributing a number of important loans.
Collezione. Capitolo primo. Andando
Museo Nivola, 29 November 2026 – 21 March 2027
Following the loan of numerous works from its collection to Triennale Milano for the exhibition Costantino Nivola. Scolpire il vento, the Museo Nivola presents a new installation of its collection, with its layout and content rethought around the works remaining on site, also thanks to the advice of architect Alessandro Floris and graphic designer Leonardo Sonnoli.
This is an opportunity to explore the museum’s holdings in storage, showcase works not currently on display, welcome further donations from the artist’s heirs and create alternative narratives and unexpected lines of enquiry.
In Collezione. Capitolo primo. Andando, the techniques and languages embraced by Nivola unfold along a thread connecting the artist’s different experiments. Photography is among them, at the centre of a complementary section—an exhibition within the exhibition—which, thanks to the collaboration of the Ilisso Archive (with an Ilisso catalogue featuring texts by Anna Pirisi and Antonia Pintori), presents for the first time a substantial series of photographs taken by Nivola in the streets and heart of Orani in the early 1960s, among its inhabitants and hidden corners, its hillside and the austere monumentality of the talc quarry.
The project is an exercise in tactical museography: a temporary, dynamic reinstallation which, rather than simply replacing works on loan, generates new relationships, brings lesser-known works together and restores visibility to parts of the collection previously marginal to the permanent display.
Works by Munari and Regina will also be displayed alongside them in a further dialogue, punctuating the route with an engaging interplay of unexpected juxtapositions.
MUSEO NIVOLA
The Museo Nivola in Orani, in the province of Nuoro, is dedicated to the life and work of Costantino Nivola (Orani, 1911 – East Hampton, 1988). Managed by the foundation bearing his name, it was established in 1995, a few years after the artist’s death, to protect and promote his research and legacy.
Over the years, projects have focused on his work and on contemporary artists whose paths crossed his own, alongside exhibitions and residencies exploring contemporary artistic languages, which continue today to cultivate subtle, meaningful connections with his intellectual legacy.
The museum occupies three main buildings set along the hillside overlooking the town, near the Su Càntaru spring. Its architectural plan was designed by Peter Chermayeff and subsequently developed over time by Umberto Floris and Sebastiano Gaias, Gianfranco Crisci and Alessandro Floris. Conceived both as a monographic museum and as a lively workshop where art, architecture, nature and landscape engage in harmonious dialogue, it plays a crucial role in the study of Nivola and serves a civic purpose by involving local communities in programmes which, true to the artist’s example, encourage participation and activate public space.
The permanent collection, displayed on a rotating basis, comprises hundreds of sculptures, paintings, drawings and numerous examples of the celebrated sandcasts, bearing witness to every phase of his thinking and multidisciplinary experimentation. This work marked an important chapter in modern explorations of the relationship between sculpture, environment and design. Through its ongoing activities, the Museo Nivola supports shared cultural growth and brings to life the history and memory of the surrounding region.
Ruth Guggenheim Nivola. Sculture leggere
curated by Chiara Gatti
Orani (Nuoro), Museo Nivola
29 November 2026 – 21 March 2027
Munari e Regina. Le affinità concrete
curated by Lorenzo Giusti and Chiara Gatti
Orani (Nuoro), Museo Nivola
29 November 2026 – 21 March 2027
Collezione. Capitolo primo. Andando
Orani (NU), Museo Nivola
29 November 2026 – 21 March 2027
Institutional Sponsors
Autonomous Region of Sardinia, Municipality of Orani, Province of Nuoro
Principal Supporter
Fondazione di Sardegna
Museo Nivola
Via Gonare 2, 08026 Orani (Nu)
T +39 0784 730063
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