An embroidered waistcoat dated 1924 to 1925 carries motifs based on Balla’s name. It is among the works in Giacomo Balla. Lo stile dell’avanguardia. Opere dalle Collezioni Biagiotti Cigna at the Mart in Rovereto. Curated by Beatrice Avanzi and Fabio Benzi, the exhibition runs from 16 May to 18 October 2026.
The exhibition brings together paintings, clothes, handmade objects and design pieces. For Balla, bringing art into everyday life meant applying forms he had developed in painting to furniture, household objects and clothing. This was part of his idea of ‘total art’, which sought to move beyond the hierarchies between art forms.
Furniture, tapestries and lampshades appear alongside designs for scarves, ties, hats and embroidery. Seeing finished objects beside plans on paper reveals the range of things Balla worked on.
Two texts on display set out this wider ambition: the original manuscript of Vestito antineutrale, from 1914, and the manifesto Ricostruzione futurista dell’universo, developed with Fortunato Depero in 1915. Clothing and furnishings were part of a programme to take artistic practice beyond painting.
The works come from the Laura Biagiotti Collection and the Biagiotti Cigna Foundation, alongside holdings from the museum. Biagiotti began collecting Balla’s work in 1986 with her husband, Gianni Cigna. Their collection includes paintings, drawings and objects that trace his work across painting and the applied arts.
