Giacomo Balla. The style of avant-garde
Works from the Biagiotti Cigna Collections
Exhibition - from saturday 16 may 2026 | to sunday 18 oct 2026
Giacomo Balla, Cartolina Futurista, 1915-1920, Collezione Laura Biagiotti
Laura Biagiotti ritratta al Chiostro del Bramante per l’inaugurazione della mostra Giacomo Balla. Futurismo tra arte e moda, 1998
Giacomo Balla, "Autospalla", 1903, Collezione Laura Biagiotti
Giacomo Balla, "Il Vestito Antineutrale. Manifesto futurista, Milano, Direzione del movimento futurista", 11 settembre 1914, Mart, Archivio di Nuova Scrittura - Donazione Paolo Della Grazia
Giacomo Balla, Gilet futurista ricamato con motivi sul nome Balla, 1924-1925, Fondazione Biagiotti Cigna
Giacomo Balla, "Linee di forza di paesaggio maiolicato", 1917-1918, Fondazione Biagiotti Cigna
Giacomo Balla, "Risveglio di primavera", 1918 (?), Collezione Laura Biagiotti
Giacomo Balla, "Studio per il manifesto della mostra personale alla galleria Bragaglia", 1918, Collezione Laura Biagiotti
Giacomo Balla, "Progetto per tappeto (Fiori + spazio)", 1930 c., Fondazione Biagiotti Cigna
Giacomo Balla, "Linee di spazio e velocità", 1922, Fondazione Biagiotti Cigna
Giacomo Balla, "Genio Futurista", 1925, Collezione Laura Biagiotti
Giacomo Balla, "Autobalsettanta", 1948, Fondazione Biagiotti Cigna
- When
- from saturday 16 may 2026 | to sunday 18 oct 2026
- Cost
- General admission €15, discount admission €10 (ticket valid for all current exhibitions)
- Credits
- Curated by Beatrice Avanzi, Fabio Benzi
- Where
- Mart Rovereto
- Type
- Exhibition
Exactly forty years ago, in 1986, fashion designer and entrepreneur Laura Biagiotti visited an exhibition at Rome’s Galleria Chimera, featuring works by Giacomo Balla and his daughters, Elica and Luce. From that moment until her passing in 2017, Laura Biagiotti—together with her husband Gianni Cigna—dedicated herself to passionately acquiring and championing the works of Giacomo Balla, ultimately becoming his most important private collector.
The works acquired during that first decade—up to 1996, the year of her husband’s death—now belong to the Biagiotti Cigna Foundation, preserving the integrity and legacy of enlightened collecting and generous patronage.
Memories and affections have been kept alive and celebrated through ongoing exhibitions and the acquisition of new works by Giacomo Balla from the Laura Biagiotti Collection.
This philanthropic and patronage activity continues thanks to the dedication of her daughter, Lavinia Biagiotti Cigna, who now leads the family business.
The Balla works in the Biagiotti family’s collection are overseen by the Foundation’s artistic director, Professor Fabio Benzi, who, together with Beatrice Avanzi—head of exhibitions at Mart in Rovereto—curates the major Giacomo Balla exhibition. The Style of the Avant-Garde, from May 16 to October 18.
Exhibited in Italy in its entirety for the first time, the “Balla/Biagiotti” collection is being presented in Rovereto—a choice that is anything but accidental. This project is perfectly in line with Mart’s mission, reinforcing its ongoing narrative as Trentino’s premier venue for celebrating the legacy of the Futurist avant-garde.
Works from the Laura Biagiotti Collection and the Biagiotti Cigna Foundation engage with a heritage deeply rooted in the exploration of twentieth-century Italian history—especially Futurism and the work of Fortunato Depero, whose legacy inspired the museum’s very creation. Moreover, this collaboration highlights Mart’s ongoing commitment to fostering dialogue between private and public collections to promote significant cultural heritage.