From 18 March to 16 June 2024, Fondazione Merz presents Sacro è, a new exhibition project curated by Giulia Turconi featuring the works of Tiphaine Calmettes (Ivry-sur-seine, Francia, 1988), Matilde Cassani (Domodossola, Italia, 1980), Giuseppe Di Liberto (Palermo, Italia, 1996), Lena Kuzmich (Vienna, Austria, 1998), Quỳnh Lâm (Saigon, Vietnam, 1988), Tommy Malekoff (Virginia, USA, 1992) Lorenzo Montinaro (Taranto, Italia, 1997) e GianMarco Porru (Oristano, Italia, 1989).
From a quotation from Franco Arminio’s poetry collection Sacro Minore, the Sacro è exhibition suggests and introduces a reflection on the concept of ‘sacredness’, seeking to analyse and understand what this concept entails, reserves, preserves and hides.
The focus is on the dimension of the sacred that can be found in commonplace things, in the splendid ability to recognise the wonder of existence and its subterranean poetry in everyday life. This journey is embarked upon through the eyes of a young generation of artists born between 1982 and 1998. The choice has been defined by the desire to focus on a contemporary and renewed sacredness that always germinates from a personal, intimate and private dimension, which then manifests itself in a universal and collective counterpart. This set of young works also include works by Mario and Marisa Merz, a tribute to suggest a positive comparison and union between different periods.
From the materiality of the work of art, which in the elements of Tiphaine Calmettes’ work evokes the latent forces of our world, we move on to the collective dimension that Matilde Cassani traces in popular traditions; if Giuseppe Di Liberto focuses on death and rituals, Quỳnh Lâm uses flowers and colours as metaphors to pose questions on the natural process of life; where Tommy Malekoff examines the various ways in which different social groups relate to each other in a uniform and ubiquitous public space, Lorenzo Montinaro reflects on the theme of memory with works based on memories of personal and intimate experiences through which he engages the viewer by encouraging him to focus again on his soul and so nourish it, while GianMarco Porru celebrates silence and pursues a search for intimate moments that allow us to be in touch with our being. The exhibition is completed by Lena Kuzmich’s video installation, in which the artist draws attention to the human being and the barriers imposed between differ-ent forms of life, wondering if and how it is possible, through technology, to re-turn to the state of nature.
Finally, the screening of the film Teorema by Pier Paolo Pasolini in the Fondazione’s video room contributes to the reflection on issues related to the exhibition.
Film screeening:
Saturday
23.3.2024 | 18.5.2024 | 8.6.2024 at 4 pm.
Wednesday
10.04.2024 | 8.5.2024 | 29.5.2024 at 5 pm.
Sunday
21.4.2024 | 16.6.2024 at 11.30 am.
