The Construction of Intercultural Temporal and Spatial Atmospheres in Sino-Italian Art Exchange Exhibitions: The Exhibition “Forms of Time” as an Example

Authors

• Rui Ji, University of Bologna, ItalyFollow

Abstract

Since the 1990s, Sino-Italian art exchange exhibitions have achieved fruitful results. They juxtapose and integrate different heterogeneous cultures of the two countries, forming an intercultural spatial and temporal atmosphere. This paper analyzes one of these exhibitions, “Forms of Time,” and explores how to build the atmosphere. A joint exhibition between the Chinese artist Tong Yan Runan and Italian artist Giorgio Morandi was held at the Bologna City History Center in 2017. Combining the intercultural origins of Michel Foucault’s heterotopia and the principle of “heterotopias/heterochronies,” this paper discusses two significant aspects. First, it analyzes the “heterogeneity” constructed by the two artists in the exhibition from the level of the deep intercultural perspectives of Italy and China, by exploring the commonality of heterogeneous cultures and presenting a dialogue in intercultural space with a contemporary perspective. This paper then analyzes the combination of different art spaces with regard to time and space at the level of different spatial histories. It deconstructs the various areas where the artworks are located, such as the urban space of cultural heritage, art gallery space, and painting space, and also discusses “heterotopias/heterochronies” characteristics of these spaces. These understandings are conducive to the intercultural atmosphere breaking through the limitations of country, regional culture, and time and space. Instead of recognizing the creation of an aesthetic atmosphere from the level of time and space belonging to a broader historical and cultural context, they provide practical ideas for intercultural communication.