Instituto Italiano de Cultura (The Italian Cultural Institute of New York)
686 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10065
(212) 879-4242
My review on TripAdvisor:
Instituto Italiano de Cultura at 686 Park Avenue
The Institute of Italian Culture has a small gallery in it that several times a year hosts small art gallery events that are open to the public. This one caught my eye when I saw the picture of Sophia Loren looking back at me when I passed.
I thought it might be interesting and I stopped to see “Italians: Italian Women who changed the World” by artist Salvatore Catalano. The gallery held about fourth pictures of Italian women from all over the world and of different time periods who influenced art, fashion, politics and business.
There were many names I recognized and a few who I did not know. The works were very interesting and engaging.
The sign that welcomes you to the gallery
The main gallery at the Instituto Italiano di Cultura for the “Italiana: Italian Women Who Changed the World” exhibition
The exhibition Italiana: “Italian Women Who Changed the World” by artist Salvatore Catalono highlights the many impressive achievements by Italian women over the course of the last few centuries, until today.
(From the museum website):
These formidable women all greatly impacted the world in one way or another, often also against the odds imposed by a “male-ruled” society. The selection of 22 portraits includes scientists, politicians, entrepreneurs, artists, humanitarians and writers. These women all accomplished incredible feats and have contributed to the world in ways that still continue to resonate nowadays.
The Institute of Italian Culture exhibition sign:
The show Italiana: Italian Women Who Changed the World”
These were my favorite sketches from the show and women I most admired in the show.
Miuccia Prada, of the Prada fashion empire
Catherine de Medici, who revolutionized French Culture
Sophia Loren, the famous Italian actress
Lidia Bastianich, the Chef and restauranteur
The sketching’s represented different eras.
(From the museum website)
They are not all household names, but they are all at the top of their professions and exemplify the spirit of Italy. Salvatore Catalano uses his art as a vehicle to transmit these stories and to highlight the lives of these incredible Italian women.
Artist Salvatore Catalano
https://www.salvatorejcatalano.com/
https://www.instagram.com/catalano7127/
(from the Italian Cultural Institute of New York website)
Salvatore Catalano is an artist, illustrator, and educator. Catalano works in all forms of visual communication. His art has appeared on everything from postage stamps to billboards and his work is in many private and corporate collections. He is an educator at the college level, teaching in New York City and Florence, Italy.
Catalano has worked with The United Nations, U.S. Government, Department of The Interior, National Audubon Society, The New York Times, The New Yorker, ABC, CBS, NBC, American Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, N.Y. Zoological Society, Merck, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Bayer, GlaxoSmithKline, Coca Cola, Pepsi Cola, Seagram’s, General Foods, Sony, Panasonic, Citibank, Scholastic, Harper-Collins, Bantam-Doubleday, Dell, MacMillan, DuPont, Exxon, State of New Jersey Children’s Television Workshop, McGraw-Hill, Ranger Rick, among others. He has also worked on more than thirty books for children.
The History of the Instituto Italiano di Cultura in New York City:
(from the Instituto Italiano di Cultura website)
The Italian Cultural Institute in New York was founded in 1961 by the Italian Government. Its mission is to promote Italian language and culture in the United States.
Under the guidance of its trustees at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, its advisory board, and its staff, the Italian Cultural Institute in New York fosters cultural exchanges between Italy and the U.S. in a variety of areas, from the arts to the humanities, to science, and technology.
Central to the Italian Cultural Institute’s activity is its collaboration with the most prominent academic and cultural Institutions of the East Coast. The scientific exchanges, the organization of, and support to, visual arts exhibitions, the grants for translation and publication of Italian books, inspire and nourish the Institute’s initiatives.
In particular, we focus on the relationship between memory and innovation, and the multiplicity of identities in the Italian civilization. The Italian Cultural Institute in New York, therefore, provides an “open window” on main cultural and social aspects of past and current Italy.
Visiting a Museum: The Unique, Unusual, Obscure and Historical 