From the start, Casa Morra was never meant to be a static exhibition space but was to become an archive of contemporary art, a place of dynamism encouraging reflection and research on society and its development. It is to be a “house of ideas” where the past merges with the present and future, defying time with a programme that has been mapped out until 2116. Beppe Morra has, in fact, planned exhibitions for the next 100 years, using a “snakes and ladders” system of references, cross-overs and turnings back. The exhibition cycles are governed by the alchemy of the numbers 3 and 7 to coincide with the number of artists on show or the number of works and exhibition sequences on show.
1st year. L'avanguardia americana
John Cage
Marcel Duchamp
Allan Kaprow
Casa Morra, 1st year. L'Avanguardia americana, 2016, Naples. (2016) by ph. Amedeo Benestante ©Fondazione MorraFondazione Morra
The first event with a new dialogue of works by John Cage – Marcel Duchamp – Allan Kaprow. The principle of randomness animates the symbolic path of the snakes and ladders game on which Casa Morra bases its statutes and its becoming.
Allan Kaprow, Stockroom, Casa Morra, Naples, 2016 (2016/2016) by ph. Amedeo Benestante ©Fondazione MorraFondazione Morra
The first exhibition opens with three artists who have made randomness their creative practice, bringing about a breakthrough in the way art is seen and perceived: Cage, Duchamp, Kaprow, all brought together in an exhibition whose purpose is to create a place in which to act – to experiment with experience.
2nd year. I Giganti dell'arte dal teatro
Julian Beck
Hermann Nitsch
Shozo Shimamoto
2nd year. I Giganti dell'Arte dal Teatro, Shimamoto's room (2017/2017) by ph. Amedeo Benestante ©Fondazione MorraFondazione Morra
I Giganti dell’Arte dal Teatro initiates a dialogue between four personalities for whom art became a way of life: Shozo Shimamoto, founding member of the Gutai group, who uses colour both materially and spatially to create an action painting that no longer relies on the brush in itself but on the movements of the artist as he works.
Casa Morra, 2nd year. I Giganti dell'Arte dal Teatro, Hermann Nitsch's room (2017/2017) by ph. Amedeo Benestante ©Fondazione MorraFondazione Morra
Hermann Nitsch, the founding father of Viennese Actionism, whose Orgien Mysterien Theater comes close to the idea of ‘total work of art’;
Julian Beck, 2nd year, I Giganti dell'Arte dal Teatro, Casa Morra, Naples, 2017 (2017/2017) by ph. Amedeo Benestante ©Fondazione MorraFondazione Morra
Julian Beck, who transitioned from abstract expressionism to anarchic and street theatre and life theatre, founding the Living Theatre with Judith Malina;
Casa Morra, 2nd year. I Giganti dell'Arte dal Teatro, Joseph Beuys room (2017/2017) by ph. Amedeo Benestante ©Fondazione MorraFondazione Morra
a pivotal figure in the neo avant-garde movement who believed in the fusion of art and life, artistic experiment and political commitment, leading to the idea of ‘social sculpture’, based on the principle that ‘every man is an artist’.
3rd year. 3P+B
Luca Maria Patella
Cesare Pietroiusti
Vettor Pisani + Nanni Balestrini
3rd year. 3P+B. Alberi Parlanti di Luca Maria Patella (2018/2018) by ph. Amedeo Benestante ©Fondazione MorraFondazione Morra
A sign of the power of energy and a unifier, the number 3 mirrors the multifaceted and dynamic identity of Casa Morra, which welds together the arts, education, research, experimentation, and the local territory.
Casa Morra, particular of Vettor Pisani room, 3rd year, 3P+B, 2018, Naples. (2018) by ph. Amedeo Benestante ©Fondazione MorraFondazione Morra
The personality of Casa Morra, able to express a plurality of languages and trends, uniting them in one place, is reflected in the number 3 and its geometric expression, the triangle, image of the return of the multiple into one.
3rd year. 3P+B, Vettor Pisani room (2018/2018) by ph. Amedeo Benestante ©Fondazione MorraFondazione Morra
Luca Maria Patella is the personification of versatility, an omnivorous precursor who cannot be boiled down to any narrow definition; the nomadism between different languages recalls the work of Vettor Pisani; Cesare Pietroiusti exhibiting the “wrong works”; Nanni Balestrini a tireless experimenter with language.
4th year. Gli Unici
Al Hansen
Dieter Roth
Jean Toche
& Roberto Paci Dalò
Casa Morra, 4th year. Gli Unici, Jean Toche room (2022/2022) by photo Amedeo Benestante ©Fondazione MorraFondazione Morra
Casa Morra, 4th year. Gli Unici, Al Hansen room (2022/2022) by photo Amedeo Benestante ©Fondazione MorraFondazione Morra
Casa Morra, 4th year. Gli Unici, Dieter Roth room (2022/2022) by photo Amedeo Benestante ©Fondazione MorraFondazione Morra
