Magazzino Brings Unique Art to the Hudson Valley

Nestled in the artsy town of Cold Spring lies the Magazzino Italian Art Foundation. A little over an hour north of the some of the world’s most famous museums, the small museum features post war contemporary Italian art. While the Hudson Valley has become the home to many different types of art museums in recent history, the Magazzino Italian Art Foundation’s many intricacies, make it a true hidden gem.

In its second year of being open, Magazzino displays art from a private collection featuring work from the Arte Povera period, directly translated to “poor art”. The Italian art movement was mainly featured in the Italian city of Torino in the late 1960s and early 1970s. With the movement only being associated with 12 artists, the museum features work from these artists even outside of this movement.

A summer intern for the museum, Amelia Nick, sees the value of having a unique type of art. “It’s really interesting, there aren’t a lot of paintings, most of it is sculptures made out of weird materials,” she said. “My favorites are the pieces that have refrigerators attached to them. They are copper and turned off over night, but during the day they’re on and they take the humidity from the air and turn it into frost.”

Some of this uniqueness comes from the basis of the movement: “poor art.” Nick explained, “Arte povera translates into English as “poor art,” which is in reference to the materials as a lot of them that were used. Not all, but a lot, were everyday objects.”

While the collection in and of itself carries a certain uniqueness, the building also brings something special to the Cold Spring area. Magazzino, meaning “warehouse,” was designed by Miguel Quismondo. With a beautifully clean design, Quismondo has won several awards for the design of the 20,000 square-foot museum. Also located around the museum are gardens that are home to some the donkeys brought to the grounds by the owners. Although they cannot feed the donkeys, guests are welcome to pet Dino, Dina, Donatello, and Donatella.

In addition to the art displayed, their website describes that the museum’s extensive library and archive is a resource for students and scholars in the area. With the resource, it provides on contemporary Italian art, many students from surrounding schools intern at the museum. “Almost all of the interns attend local colleges, like Marist, Vassar, New Paltz and Bard,” said Nick. “This allows more opportunities for students studying art in this area.”

With the unique art and the spectacular structure, as well as the opportunities to bring different kinds of art to the Hudson Valley, the Magazzino Italian Art Foundation is a breath of fresh air in the Hudson Valley