where I came  from, the twentieth exhibition organized by the Rolla Foundation, is a tribute to its founder. A particular exhibition born from a long reflection by Philip Rolla on himself and on his past. These years, marked by illness and isolation led Philip to review those papers that we all accumulate during our lives. Among many memories and surprises he found negatives dating back to 1972. Shots of his California, the places where he spent his childhood and to which many memories are linked. Places that had already changed in 1972, mostly worn out by time and neglect, but which, for him, contain an unchanged dignity to remember.

Philip Rolla this time does not show a part of his collection but a part of his life.

Philip Michael Rolla was born 1938 in Madrone, California, a small agricultural town in the Santa Clara Valley. He graduated from Santa Clara University, and on finishing his studies in engineering and economics, understood that his destiny was not in working for a large American company, and decided for Europe.
In fall 1962 he went to Turin and worked for the automobile manufacturer Frank Reisner as an apprentice until 1965. He moved to Canton Ticino in 1966. The proximity to three large lakes, and the presence of Como boat builder Angelo Molinari – whose friendship and instruction were fundamental – made it the perfect place to further develop his interest in marine propulsion, and there he founded Rolla Propellers.
In Ticino he developed friendships with architects and artists – such as Dolf Schnebli, Pierino Selmoni, Flavio Paolucci and many others – thanks to whom he expanded his knowledge of international contemporary art. With his wife Rosella he began collecting minimalist works in the late 1990s, later followed by photography. In 2008 the Rollas reached an agreement with the town of Bruzella, where they live, and were granted rights to use the ex-kindergarten as a private museum dedicated to photography.



Free entry
Sat 21 May from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM
Sun 22 May from 2:00 to 6:00 PM
every second Sunday of the month
from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM
and by appointment


To request the press kit write to contact@rolla.info

Supported by

With great pleasure we present the book/biography of Philip Rolla written by Maria Grazia Rabiolo.


When Philip Rolla left California after graduating from university, the trip he took was diametrically opposite to that of his grandparents, who had arrived in California in the early twentieth century from Piedmont. His professional adventure began in Turin and continued in Italian-speaking Switzerland. A craftsman-engineer, he is the inventor of the most high-performance propellers in the world. His name is linked to powerboat racing and to boats in general. On top of that, he has always nurtured a great passion for contemporary art and photography. He has lived all his life between the United States, which he has never forgotten, and Europe, in particular Switzerland. In Bruzella, in the Valle di Muggio, where he lives with his wife Rosella. he has assembled an important art collection and a foundation that holds reqular photography exhibitions in the former kindergarten. Unquestionably, Phil Rolla's life has been both special and interesting. This biography written by Maria Grazia Rabiolo goes back over it stage by stage with both precision and a sense of participation. What emerges is the portrait of a man, a professional, and a collector who is, to say the least, unique, and inimitable

Maria Grazia Rabiolo was born in 1957 in Lausanne (Canton Vaud) and grew up in Viganello (Cantone Ticino). She earned a degree in Humanities from the University of Milan. As a cultural journalist she has worked for the RSI - Radiotelevisione svizzera di linqua italiana for thirty-four vears. She has lived in Bruzella with her husband since 2002.

Sylvia Notini was born in Boston and grew up in nearby Lexington. After receiving a Ph.D. in Romance Languages and Literatures from Harvard University she moved to Bologna, Italy, where she raised a family while teaching English at the university and working as a freelance translator.

Supported by


 

Maria Grazia Rabiolo
Between two worlds.
Story of Philip Rolla
translation Sylvia Notini
pp.128
210 x 148 mm
ISBN 978-88-947158-2-8
price 20 Chf/Euro

You can buy the book by writing an email to contact@rolla.info.
Soon it will also be available in various bookstores and on amazon.

Turné (weekly magazine of the RSI online newspaper) travels between two worlds to tell you the story of the inventor and art collector Philip Rolla through an exhibition and a biography written by Maria Grazia Rabiolo.

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