Nights. Five senturies of stars, dreams, plenilunes

The GAM Galleria Civica d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Torino presents “Notti. Cinque secoli di stelle, sogni, pleniluni” (Nights. Five centuries of stars, dreams, plenilunes). The exhibition traces the representation of the night in figurative art from the early seventeenth century to the present day.

Curated by Fabio Cafagna and Elena Volpato, the exhibition presents around a hundred works from prestigious public institutions and private collections in Europe, a large number of which are part of the GAM’s collections.

Organised thematically, in a sequence that aims to respect the chronological succession of the different cultural movements, the exhibition explores how the theme of night has been a favourite field for technical experimentation, scientific reflection and poetic introspection for artists over the centuries. Through the selection of works on display in the rooms of the GAM, “Nights. Five centuries of stars, dreams, plenilunes” invites visitors to reflect on the appeal of the night as a place of ambiguity, mystery and discovery, in a constant dialogue between rationality and emotion, science and visionary thinking. The exhibition highlights the dual nature of the night, which, while traditionally attributed to the realm of imagination, is also a time set aside for scientific investigation.