‘Writing about the paintings by William Congdon is a great responsibility. I mean you can run serious risks because the extraordinary story of this man’s encounters, occasions and destiny is full of fascination; it was so intensely lived and expressed that it is itself destined to become a work of art and to recount moments of poetry, adventure, enlightenment and invention”. (Giuseppe Mazzariol, Venice, 1981) William Congdon, the American painter linked to Action Painting, is pre-sent at Meeting in Rimini on two different occasions, which both contribute to making known the works and the experience of this artist. A Multivision film will be shown, prepared by the “Foundation for Improving Under-standing of the Arts” entitled “Farewell America: William Congdon painter of the world’. It illustrates, through images of the works by the artist, the most significant aspects of his human and artistic life, also suggesting a way to read his pictures. What is highlighted above all is his figure as a painter of the cities of the world, as a man in exile from America and as an artist involved in religious themes. The octagonal room at the Tempio Malatestiano in Rimini hosts an exhibition of 40 paintings which describe the most significant moments of the creativity of the artist, from 1942 to 1984′