http://www.culturetracks.org/en.htm

The Foundation Pescarabruzzo and the cultural association Culture Tracks organize from May 28 to June 26, 2010 in the exhibition hall Maison des Arts in C.so Umberto I, No 83 in Pescara, an art exhibition entitled: "The Abruzzo of MC Escher" A journey through art.

The exhibition presents the photos that the Dutch artist M.C. Escher took during his travels in Abruzzo in the years 1928-1935, his notebooks, his drawings and the reproductions of the mostr famous works concerning the Abruzzo Region. The materials are from the archives of the M.C. Escher Foundation (Baarn - Holland) and from those of the Gemeentemuseum (the Hague - Holland).

M.C. Escher visited Abruzzo three times (between 1928 and 1935) during his decennial permanence in Italy and, fascinated by our landscapes, he made lithographs and woodcuts admired all over the world.

In 1928 Escher discovers the Abruzzo with its valleys, hills, imposing rocky mountains and craggy picks, and for a Dutch man, accustomed to the vision of a wide and linear horizon, the steep mountains of our region with its small stone villages had to had an irresistible fascination on him.

With a plan at the back of his mind to produce an illustrate book on the Abruzzo, Escher went on the second trip trough the inhospitable area of Abruzzo in the spring of 1929. In a letter to his best friend Bas Kist, Escher wrote:

" I have become accustomed to making such a journey each spring, refreshing my body and spirit and collecting material for the work of the following months. I know of no greater pleasure than to wonder over

the hills and through vales, from village to village, feeling the effects of unspoiled nature and enjoying the unexpected and unlooked for, in the greatest possible contrast to life at home".

The book on the Abruzzo never materialized – though the trip, from 12 May to 10 June 1929, in company with the Swiss artist Giuseppe Hass Triverio did produce 28 drawings.

Bruno Ernst, Escher’s friend and biographer interviewed by Culture Tracks, remembers:

"He made many sketches and one of these grew into the beautiful lithograph Castrovalva, which he completed a year later. When we looked at it Escher said with some nostalgia in his voice:

"I spent nearly a whole day sitting drawing beside this narrow little mountain path. Up above me there was a school and I enjoyed listening to the clear voices of the children as they sang their songs."

M.C. Escher Castrovalva – Lithograph 1928

During his long trips in our region, M.C. Escher collected sketches, drawings and notes of travel and captured also, with his camera, the most evocative moments of his wandering. He used to travel alone or with his friend, on foot, with a donkey, with bus or by train.

Before leaving Italy, in 1935 Escher made the last trip to Abruzzo to absorb one more time its landscapes, architectures and people, his sources of energy and inspiration. It is not a case that the mountainous landscape in Belvedere (1958) is our Gran Sasso Mountain.

M.C. Escher – Belvedere – Lithograph 1958

The exhibition is organized by the cultural association Culture Track of Pescara that, since many years, studies the work of the Dutch artist and its relationship with Abruzzo, the exhibition is promoted by the Foundation Pescarabruzzo in collaboration with the M.C. Escher Foundation (Baarn – Holland).

The event will be presented to the public and the press at 18:00 of Friday, May 28, 2010 at the conference hall of the Foundation Pescarabruzzo (ground floor) and it will be accompanied by a video documentary "On MC Escher’s Footsteps in Abruzzo" production Arch. Piero Moscone.

At the Conference will participate:

Nicola Mattoscio, President of the Foundation Pescarabruzzo
Luigi Albore Mascia, Mayor of the Municipality Pescara
Mick Veldhuysen, Representative of the M.C. Escher Foundation– Baarn Olanda
Katia Di Simone, President of the association Culture Tracks

The Mayors of the villages represented in the works of MC Escher

The exhibition will run until June 26, 2010, from Tuesday to Saturday from 18.00 to 20.00, closing on Sundays and Mondays, as well as holidays. Free admission For more information

Associazione Culturale Culture Tracks Tel. 347.7906812 - 338.1238720

www.culturetracks.org info@culturetracks.org

Fondazione Pescarabruzzo Tel. 085.4219109 - Fax 085.4219380

http://www.fondazionepescarabruzzo.it fondazione@pescarabruzzo.it