Galleria Torbandena in Trieste celebrates its first 40 years of activity. Open in September 1964 it was taken over in 1977 by Andy and Alessandro Rosada who started off their project with a revalorisation of the historical avant-gardes to move later on into the new tendencies of contemporary painting and sculpture.

The exhibition celebrating the gallery's first 40 years presents a series of important works by four of the most renowned and acclaimed artists in the contemporary artistic scene: MIQUEL BARCELO', JEAN MICHEL BASQUIAT, ANSELM KIEFER and GERARD RICHTER. Artists who are being presented in Trieste for the first time, with the exception of Basquiat who showed at the local Museo Revoltella.

Among the works of Anselm Kiefer a big canvas of constellations entitled "Merkaba", the series presented at Archaeological Museum in Naples, will be on exhibit together with some works on paper dating back from the 80s up to now. Two "Abstraktes Bilder" and some works on paper by Gerard Richter will offer a tribute to their great German artist, unparalleled icon in the international art-market after the historical re-collocation of his activity started at the end of the 80s by important museums and galleries. By Jean-Michel Basquiat will be present "Hohner" a big canvas dated 1983 together with some pastels on papers which show the primitive touch and the intuition of this big talent prematurely passed away. Furthermore there will be some works by Miquel Barceló, the young but already celebrated Spanish painter: two oils on canvas, among which "Progetto per crocefissione" already shown in the great exhibition of 1998 in Palermo in the church of Sant'Eulalia, and some gouaches painted in Mali.

The opening will start at 7.00 p.m. and will last until 10.00 p.m.

Furthermore it will be possible to visit all the other spaces of the gallery. In the studio, a tribute to some big artists of the 20th century: Picasso, Klee, Kokoschka, Mirò; on the first floor, three new canvases by Cveto Marsic and one big iron sculpture by Carlos Lizariturry created on purpose for this event; and some more precious works in the inner room: Grosz, Julio Gonzales, Von Jawlenskij, Nina Kogan, Music.
And for this important occasion the second floor of the gallery will also be opened to the public to show some works of artists already presented in the 80s (Hubert Scheibl, Zivko Marusic) as well as art-pieces which are being presented by the gallery in the international art fairs: from Gao Xingiian's inks to Josè Maria Sicilia's waxes and the photos of the great director Abbas Kiarostami.

The exhibition will last until 31 October 31, 2004.

Timetable: Monday 5 p.m. - 8 p.m.; Tuesday to Saturday: 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. - 8 p.m.