The Malaysian Insider :: Features
The Malaysian Insider :: Features |
| Italy’s top bank turns vaults into Milan art museum Posted: 26 Oct 2012 07:06 AM PDT
Palazzo Beltrami, a superb Milanese building which blends Neoclassical style with eclectic features, was built in 1911 as a prestigious new head office for Banca Commerciale Italiana, now part of domestic bank giant IntesaSanpaolo. Nearly 200 works of art, all from IntesaSanpaolo's huge art collection, are on display as of this week in the same early 20th century halls where clerk desks and cash counters stood for 100 years. Even the bank's restored vaults will be turned into exhibit halls, hosting a rotating selection of paintings and sculptures. "The main bank hall is now the key museum hall," said architect Michele De Lucchi, who directed the project. "We have left portions of the original cash counters, that are now an integral part of the exhibition space." The newly inaugurated Cantiere del '900 exhibition is part of a broader museum complex called Gallerie d'Italia that belongs to IntesaSanpaolo and is set across from famed opera theatre La Scala and by the elegant shopping street Via Manzoni. From Informalism to Pop Art, the collection aims to represent all the leading artistic movements from the 1950s to the 1990s. It is entirely made up of Italian works, many from the Lombardy region where Milan is based. A whole section is dedicated to the emblematic Fontana, known for his Spatial Concept series, monochromatic paintings and other works with deliberate holes or slashes in them. Other masterpieces include abstract paintings from Emilio Vedova, one of the most important Italian painters of the post-War era, collages from Alberto Burri or works by MAC (concrete art) movement founder Bruno Munari. "For Italian banks, even the smaller ones, it has been a tradition to collect art and documents from their local area," said Giovanni Bazoli, Supervisory Board Chairman of IntesaSanpaolo. "These masterpieces were however enjoyed by just a few people. I had two works of Umberto Boccioni in my office, that are now on public display." The modern art collection complements a selection of works from the 19th century also from the bank that opened to the public last year and is hosted in the adjacent Palazzo Anguissola and Palazzo Brentani. — Reuters |
| Gloved-up Hong Kong city slickers fight ‘mid-life crisis’ Posted: 26 Oct 2012 01:29 AM PDT  Andrea "Glynn-sanity" Glynn (left) from Bank of Montreal fights with Danielle "Steely" Midalia from Operation Smile during the Hedge Fund Fight Nite. — Reuters pic "I think my wife will divorce me if I go through another six months of training," Gazal, 35, said after the fight.  Anthony "The Tank" Carango from Nomura Holdings is greeted by fans. — Reuters pic Attended by 550 people, last night's event raised just over HK$500,000 (RM200,00), nearly matching last year's total. Proceeds go to children's charities Operation Breakthrough and Operation Smile. Gazal, who fought his pal Grant Livingston, 35, an executive director at JPMorgan with a long reach and quick jab, won by a unanimous decision. In a pre-match video aired before Gazal and Livingston's fight, "mid-life crisis" was among the reasons given for wanting to take on the six-month challenge. A survey of the crowd found more bankers than hedgies in attendance, perhaps a sign of the industry's struggles in the region. Asian-focused hedge funds as measured by the Eurekahedge index rose 3.8 per cent through September this year, falling short of a seven per cent rise in the MSCI Asia index. At least 73 Asia hedge funds have shut down this year. The city's bankers and financiers aren't faring much better, though the sector's woes failed to impact attendance. At more than HK$2,000 a seat, the black-tie crowd filled every chair inside the makeshift boxing tent.  Bikini girls stand in the ring. — Reuters pic Carango, who squared off against Craig Barnish, 30, a managing director at BAH Partners Ltd, said it came back to him occasionally - "head, body, head, body" - enough to allow him a unanimous-decision victory. HSBC fielded three fighters on the night. Richard Rouse, an account manager at the bank, held steady in his match against Andrew Wylde, head of sales and operations at Hatstand consultancy. Wylde, 28, fought hard, needing to stop twice to mend a bloody face, but Rouse held on to win. Blair Crichton, an assistant vice president of HSBC, and Brad Moreland, a director of prime services at the bank, each won their matches, pulling off a clean sweep. Crichton defeated Stephen Taw, a director at South Ocean Management Ltd, while Moreland won against 36-year-old Frenchman Nicolas Boulay, a derivatives broker at Louis Capital. "As the fight goes on, you get tired, you tend to lose form, which was obvious," said Boulay, who noted his strong crowd support from friends and clients. Danielle Midalia, 30, a creative manager at Operation Smile, defeated Andrea Glynn, 28, an associate at the Bank of Montreal, in the night's only female match-up.  Bikini girls carry "Long Life" by Chinese artist Shen Jingdong for auction during the charity boxing event. — Reuters pic Mark's wife Ashley said she hopes he keeps his fitness level maintained, but that may be a tall order. "He says after it's all over, he's going to eat a lot of pies and sit on the couch," she said. Taw, 53, was the eldest boxer and crowd favourite, known as the "Wizard of Wanchai". With grey hair protruding from his red headgear, he went down in the first of three rounds, then held tough throughout. "My strategy was simple: do not get hit in the face," he said, a strategy that quickly fell apart. Standing near the ring in his boxing outfit after the fight and holding two glasses of beer, Taw reflected on his performance. "I think I won the third round," said Taw, his face now cleared of blood. "But I didn't land my jabs." — Reuters |
MILAN, Oct 26 — Italy's biggest retail bank has turned its historic headquarters in Milan's central La Scala square into a majestic modern art museum displaying Italian post-war works from the likes of Lucio Fontana and Renato Guttuso.| You are subscribed to email updates from The Malaysian Insider :: Features To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
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