Located in Naples’ vibrant historical center, Museo d’Arte contemporanea DonnaREgina (MADRE) is housed in the 19th-century Palazzo Donnaregina, redeveloped by architect Álvaro Siza. MADRE was established by the regional Fondazione Donnaregina in 2005, which has promoted and administered the museum ever since. Its inaugural Jannis Kounellis retrospective in 2006 marked the beginning of an ambitious program of temporary exhibitions. Yet, as with many of Italy’s contemporary art institutions, MADRE did not remain unaffected by recent funding cuts. With the appointment of Andrea Viliani as new director last December, a previous member of the core agent group of dOCUMENTA (13) and former director of Fondazione Galleria Civica in Trento, the hope is that Viliani will bring new vigor to MADRE, while building on the museum’s reputation. An experienced curator, Viliani’s lines of action seek to strengthen the museum’s identity within and beyond Italy. This includes a dynamic summer program that includes solo presentations by Thomas Bayrle, Mario Garcia Torres and Giulia Piscitelli, and a re-shaping of the museum’s permanent collection: Recent additions include five Sol LeWitt wall drawings from the series “Scribbles,” as a long-term loan from the LeWitt Collection. While it is still too early to predict the museum’s future, Viliani succinctly imagines MADRE “as a take-off platform for local creativity.” Under Viliani’s direction the new MADRE hopes to offer local audiences “a looking glass into the world.” (Anja Isabel Schneider)

The exhibitions of Thomas Bayrle, Mario Garcia Torres and Giulia Piscitelli at MADRE, Naples, will open June 21.