CASALE MONFERRATO – Lighting a new abstract Hanukkah lamp by Giorgio Griffa

The Turin-based artist Giorgio Griffa is internationally recognized as a master of contemporary painting. His works are displayed globally, from the Tate Modern in London to the Centre Pompidou in Paris. Now, the Museum of Lights in Casale Monferrato, Piedmont, is further enriching its unique collection of Hanukkah menorahs created by contemporary artists with a piece by Griffa. “He is one of the few artists we were missing,” explained Claudia De Benedetti, the museum’s director. The public lighting of the menorah, timed to coincide with the installation of the piece in the museum’s galleries—located in the basement of the 16th-century Baroque synagogue—will be a festive occasion for the entire city.
Such an event is a tradition during the “Jewish Festival of Lights” in Monferrato. “This year will be the first without two pillars of our community—Elio Carmi and Salvatore Giorgio Ottolenghi, our recently passed emeritus president,” De Benedetti added. “We will honor them with this prestigious addition and many cherished memories. And then we’ll enjoy sweets and drink Vov (an Italian liqueur made from egg yolks, sugar, and alcohol), a Chanukkah tradition of ours.”
When the noted designer Elio Carmi served as the Councilor for Culture in Casale Monferrato, an exhibition titled Il tempo della profezia was organized. Among the key figures featured in the exhibit was Giorgio Griffa. Born in 1936, Griffa began painting as a child and emerged in the 1960s as a prominent figure within Pop Art, Minimalism, and Conceptual Art. The New York Times once wrote: “His art deserves a place in the global history of abstraction.”