From April 14 to July 14, 2024, the National Galleries of Ancient Art, in collaboration with the Aïshti Foundation of Beirut, present the exhibition Night Effect: New American Realism, curated by Massimiliano Gioni and Flaminia Gennari Santori.

More than 150 works are on display, all coming from the collection of the Aïshti Foundation, one of the most important contemporary art institutions on the international scene, founded 25 years ago by the Italo-Lebanese entrepreneur Tony Salamé and his wife Elham.

The exhibition takes its title from a work by the New York artist Lorna Simpson. Day For Night – in Italian, Night Effect – is a cinematographic trick that allows filming night scenes during the day.

The title was made famous by a 1973 film by Francois Truffaut: in French, the night effect is called "Nuit Américaine", the American night – an image that fits well with the chiaroscuro visions of these artists who in recent decades have captured the reality of America in all its complexity.

Palazzo Barberini will host a selection of works by artists active in the United States – including Cecily Brown, George Condo, Nicole Eisenman, Urs Fischer, Wade Guyton, Julie Mehretu, Richard Prince, Charles Ray, David Salle, Dana Schutz, Cindy Sherman, Lorna Simpson, Henry Taylor, Christopher Wool and many others – whose work engages with the crucial issue of realism and the representation of truth.

The progressive erosion of the concept of truth that has characterized American culture in recent years has paradoxically coincided with a return to figuration by numerous contemporary artists. While concepts such as alternative facts and post-truths have gained ground in American public opinion, many artists have embarked on a complex reflection on the concept of realism, particularly in the field of contemporary painting.