Paris, France —- They never met, though they were contemporaries. Neither one of them particularly liked to travel. They were Alberto Giacometti best known for his sculptures and Giorgio Morandi, the Italian artist from Bologna best know for his still life paintings. The former found fame in Pairs, the latter, in Rome, although he never left his native Bologna. They both traveled through the art movements of the 20th century from Cubism to Realism and Surrealism.

The Fondation Giacometti Institut in Paris is juxtaposing their works while taking look at the similarities between these two major 20th century artists in an exhibition entitled Giacometti/Morandi. Still Moments. They both worked practically exclusively in a studio environment. They both used recurring models. For Morandi it was the objects he collected to paint. For Giacometti it was his fetish models, brother Diego and wife Annette. While they both journeyed through the various art movements of the 20th century they both returned to classical mediums: the still life for Morandi, the human figure for Giacometti. The exhibition brings together works from the Fondation Giacometti and works on loan from the Museo Morandi of Bologna as well as from a number of private European collections and is presented in four sections in the beautifully appointed museum in the Montparnasse neighborhood of Paris.

The Giacometti Institute is part of the Fondation Giacometti devoted to exhibitions and research in art history and pedagogy. Alberto Giacometti’s mythical studio, whose elements in their entirety, had been kept by his widow, Annette Giacometti, is on permanent display at the Institute. Conferences, workshops and guided tours are all on the agenda with guided visits in English on Saturdays at 11am. The current exhibition is running until March 2nd and is accompanied by a richly illustrated catalogue in a bilingual French/English edition. The Institute, which has am eclectic program of performances and conferences, is open Tuesdays to Sundays, from 11am until 6pm. https://www.fondation-giacometti.fr/en 5 rue Victor-Schoelcher, 75014 Paris, France, +33 (0)1 44 54 52 44, ©Trish Valicenti for The Gourmet Gazette