Between Europe and America: Metropolitan Exchanges in the 261 Context of International Antifascism

Abstract

The urban experiences of artists, intellectuals and writers in transit in the interwar period – the time of the international anti-fascist movement and exile processes – afford the possibility to examine and compare the works of artists in depth with a view to recovering unknown aspects of the exchange, circulation and selection of aesthetic and artistic knowledge at a key moment of modernity. The theoretical perspective of this paper seeks to delve into art history of the past, and to look beyond the glamourous aspects of avant-garde historical accounts in order to emphasize active processes of exchange. My aim is to provide the history of modern art with new shades of meaning, to establish networks that enhance our ways of seeing, and to challenge the historiography of modern art. My research toolbox consists of art history, cultural sociology and visual and curatorial studies. The research conducted in collections, libraries and archives is put to the test in the curatorial field, which I conceive as the laboratory of my work. The encounter of works, different types of images, documents and memo- ries in this unique curatorial laboratory allows me to examine working hypotheses and in turn presents, tests and creates tension in the images and their ways of activating different meanings, each one in its own right and with its own dialogue.