Message From The President

Since 1983 Laura Mattioli has been the curator responsible for the collection of her father, Gianni Mattioli, which is considered to be one of the most important aggregations of Italian avant-garde and modern art. An art historian, curator, and collector, Laura specializes in twentieth-century Italian art. She founded CIMA in NYC in 2013 with the mission of spreading awareness about and scholarship on Italian modern art.

“Italy is celebrated for its excellence in modern fashion and design, the culinary arts, and for ancient and Renaissance art, but Italian modern and contemporary art has been largely overlooked internationally. We established the Center for Italian Modern Art to shine a spotlight on Italian masters whose work has been little recognized outside of Italy and to support new scholarship and public dialogue.

As a cultural and scholarly resource, CIMA invites curators, students, and the public alike to experience Italian art in the context of an intimate gallery that feels like a home. In the 1950s and 60s, my father used to open our Milan apartment–where his collection was housed–for Sunday tours of the artwork. In many ways, that experience helped shape this foundation.

Our fellowship program enables scholars to spend extensive time with works on view during our exhibits. CIMA’s mission is to grow a new generation of art historians, who study here and publish their research on our online journal, Italian Modern Art.  With these new generations, we are looking to the art of the past to better understand the art of our time.

We hope you will enjoy the exhibitions and programming we provide to the city of New York and beyond, and look forward to welcoming you to our center, hoping that we will see you often!”

— Laura Mattioli