The title of an exhibition could never be more apt: “The sculptors of speed”. A truly extraordinary exhibition was inaugurated in Bologna on Thursday morning at the headquarters of the Emilia Romagna Region: from 2 to 12 February you can admire the display of a truly unique collection that enhances the art of Modena’s master coachbuilders.
The sculptors of speed: an exhibition on Modena coachbuilders not to be missed in Bologna
Photo by: Franco Nugnes
ModenArt, on the initiative of Jean-Marc Borel, offers us the rediscovery of an automotive world that no longer exists: that of the master panel beaters, capable with a series of hammers, a piece of tree trunk, a bag of sand and a plane of work, modeling shapes with captivating lines and superb curves that have sanctioned and eternalized the success of cars that have marked the history of the automobile on the track as well as on the road.
The Sculptors of Speed
Photo by: Franco Nugnes
“In Turin and Milan – explains the curator Antonio Ghini – in the 40s and 50s after the war, the famous coachbuilders of the time built wooden mannequins of the cars destined to be built. Refined works of cabinet-making, perfect in shape. It was a very expensive preparatory work that required, in addition to expertise, a lot of time to complete”.
“During the same years, this technique did not exist in Modena and, no less importantly, Maserati and Ferrari did not have the means to afford such demanding jobs and not even the time, because racing cars, when they are born, have very close appointments : whoever wants to win must also arrive first to field the new creature”.
The sculptors of speed: the strands of the Ferrari 330 P3-P4
Photo by: Franco Nugnes
“It was for this reason that imagination won out: the sheet metal workers knew how to work metal and knew its qualities. Why not start from metal in the shape of a wire and bend it, model it according to the shape of the car and weld the elements until the complete design of the car is defined?”.
Giancarlo Guerra and Afro Gibellini have now retired for years after the two masters modeled the bodies of the most coveted and precious cars in the history of the car in the Scaglietti workshop. They have resumed working with the hammer: for seven years they have begun to reproduce those masterpieces to give life to a project of conservation and transmission to future generations of the heritage they have managed to create.
The Sculptors of Speed
Photo by: Franco Nugnes
“The ModenArt workshop was created in Campogalliano – says Jean-Marc Borel – and there they designed a collection of works identical to their creations, with the utmost respect for tradition. Same tools, same techniques and above all same hands. The result is wonderful and can be admired in Bologna”.
We can admire the bodies of three Ferrari 330 P3-P4 to ennoble and immortalize the historic hat trick at the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1967, right in Ford’s home, but we find Ferrari 250 Testarossa, 250 GT Berlinetta (SWB), 250 GT0 62 and 64 as well as Maserati Tipo 151/3 and Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupé (five of the six examples were born in Modena to Baccarini and Vaccari).
The sculptors of speed: the Shelby Cobra Dayton Coupé born in Modena
Photo by: Franco Nugnes
The exhibition has free admission and is open every day from 9 am to 6 pm. An extraordinary opening is scheduled until 10 pm on Saturday 4 February: the appointment is not to be missed, because these masterpieces of Italian genius are still seeking a “ house” where to be permanently admired.
Giancarlo Guerra and Afro Gibellini and the other collaborators have done their part, like Jean-Marc Borel who believed in ModenArt: now it’s up to the institutions to complete the work. The exhibition in the Emilian capital, the heart of the Motor Valley, represents a passage that does not complete an ambitious project, but opens up to a world that must discover and appreciate the Italian genius…
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