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Press Releases

30 mar 2021
BFF announces a new project to promote Italian Contemporary Art
‘ART FACTOR – The Pop Legacy in Post-War Italian Art’ is geared towards engendering a new appreciation for art and culture, as drivers of creativity and innovation, both for companies and for society.

Milan, 30 March, 2021 – BFF is proud to announce the launch of the project ART FACTOR – The Pop Legacy in Post-War Italian Art, which takes its initial form in the book of the same name, published by Skira editore Milan Genève Paris, and in a website showcasing the collection; the next phase of the project will see the collection being exhibited across Europe.

The project features a selection of works by Italian artists, taken from the private contemporary art collection of Farmafactoring Foundation. The collection is an homage to the art of the second half of the twentieth century, and has also been an integral part of the history and growth of the group that has assembled it over the years.

It was specifically the art factor that – more than twenty years ago – provided the genesis for what was to become a collection of over 250 artworks, spanning the years from the immediate post-war period right through to the early 2000s, created by artists such as Valerio Adami, Enrico Baj, Alberto Burri, Hsiao Chin, Mario Schifano, Arnaldo Pomodoro and Joe Tilson. 
The project takes in a selection of works that describe the Italian path through Pop Art, as embodied by the output of Valerio Adami, Franco Angeli, Enrico Baj, Lucio Del Pezzo, Gianfranco Pardi, Mario Schifano and Emilio Tadini. From the mid-1960s onwards, these artists engaged with a longstanding iconographic tradition, re-casting and transcending the avant-gardes and stylistic techniques of the past, while making use of a rich variety of resources, often deployed for purposes of social and cultural activism.
Indeed, the art book and the artworks themselves tell this very story: the desire to be active participants in – not spectators to – those initiatives that create value for society. 

Under the curatorship of Maria Alicata, the catalogue and the project itself encapsulate all of the most important moments in the collection’s history: from its origins, with Lucio Fontana, Alberto Burri, Enrico Baj and Giacomo Balla, to the Pop Art legacy, with Valerio Adami, Emilio Tadini, Gianfranco Pardi and Lucio Del Pezzo.

Thanks to this initiative, the collection – which has its permanent home in the Milan headquarters of BFF – will become an exhibition that will tour across Europe in 2021-22, visiting cities including Athens, Lisbon, Madrid, Paris, Warsaw and Milan, thus covering most of the countries in which the group is currently operational.

As Marco Rabuffi, Chairman of Farmafactoring Foundation, puts it: "Art and culture constitute a significant driving force for pursuing the development both of companies and of society. It was precisely this idea that led BFF, more than twenty years ago now, to put together a collection that bears the ‘Made in Italy’ hallmark. BFF has transferred the collection to the foundation with a view to nurturing it and promoting it yet further, and today we are honoured to participate in this project, which will offer a new and different perspective on our story through the global language of art."

Massimiliano Belingheri, CEO of BFF Banking Group, states: “Organizations that operate in fast-moving environments know that they have to be prepared for the unexpected. This applies more than ever to today’s world. In our day-to-day lives, art reminds us of the importance of imagination, creativity and innovation – elements that are crucial to our vision. We hope this project will generate new sparks of imagination for individuals, companies and society at large”

 

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For more information, visit: www.art-factor.eu
The catalogue is published and distributed in Italy and internationally by Skira editore Milan Genéve Paris.
The collection is constantly monitored, reconditioned and inventoried thanks to the expertise of Open Care, Servizi per l’arte, which will be the logistical partner for the exhibition’s European tour.

 

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BFF and the corporate identity inspired by art
The project is also intended to celebrate the group’s new corporate identity, unveiled on  4 March, 2021, which reflects the group’s significant evolution. 

The corporate logo, in continuity with the previous design, has been simplified and rotated to imply forward motion. It draws its inspiration from the artwork Danza [Dance], which the company commissioned the artist Gianfranco Pardi to create and which it then donated to the city of Milan in 2006, to embellish one of the major gateways of the city, close to BFF’s headquarters. 
The sculpture is composed of a series of yellow lines that – in their curves and suspensions – evoke the movement and dynamism of change, in line with our principles of continuous innovation and excellence in execution. 

Read the Press Release and watch the video on the re-branding to learn more about how art inspires us.