Rome is currently hosting the exhibition "In a Light Breeze," which runs from December 14, 2024, to March 30, 2025. This event marks the tenth installment of the annual Conversation Piece cycle curated by Marcello Smarrelli. Organized by the Fondazione Memmo at via Fontanella Borghese 56b, the exhibition presents an artistic dialogue that reflects on spirituality and the identity of Rome, drawing inspiration from the Ponentino, the summer wind typical of the city.
Conversation Piece was initiated in 2014 to explore the activities of both Italian and foreign artists who choose Rome as their place of residence and research. Over the years, this cycle of exhibitions has involved more than fifty artists, establishing itself as a significant reference point for contemporary art in Rome. The title of the exhibition recalls the biblical story in which the prophet Elijah encounters God "in a light breeze" and also pays homage to Greek mythology and the philosophical concept of pneuma, viewed as the vital principle and origin of all things.
This year's exhibition features a diverse group of artists, including Bianca Bondi, Enzo Cucchi with Andrea Anastasio, Francesco Arena, Marc Bauer, Elisabetta Benassi, Carlo Benvenuto, Domenico Mangano, Sidival Fila, Vanessa Garwood, and Richard Mosse. Each artist tackles the theme of wind as a metaphor for life, spirituality, and the divine. The opening piece, a collective work titled Scirocca, was created in 2005 by Enzo Cucchi alongside a group of artist friends. This totem, made from polychrome marbles and heterogeneous materials, evokes the warm winds of the Marche region, where the work originated, and is conceived as a sculptural experiment inspired by the surrealist cadavre exquis.
Bianca Bondi's installation Pneuma (2024) transforms the exhibition space through glass containers and saline liquids that crystallize on decorated strings with prisms and fragments of Roman antiquity, evoking a vital breath that seems to emerge from the suspended compositions. The Franciscan friar Sidival Fila presents a series of works based on the reuse of ancient fabrics, including Metafora Giallo 35 (2024), a polyptych that combines painting and sculpture. Vanessa Garwood explores expanded painting for the first time with her installation Give Me a Hand to Say Yes (2024), inspired by ancient dance rituals. Her moving female figures connect to the past, invoking the vital energy of the Ponentino and its invisible influence. Richard Mosse, on the other hand, utilizes advanced photographic technologies to document the conflicts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, providing a unique perspective on regions ravaged by wars over mineral resources.
Conversation Piece is a continually evolving project, born from the Fondazione Memmo's desire to investigate the contemporary artistic scene in Rome and the activities of the academies and cultural institutions present in the city. The name is inspired by Luchino Visconti's film "Conversation Piece" (1974) and the homonymous painting genre that flourished in the 17th and 18th centuries. The exhibition not only serves as a moment of artistic confrontation but also as an opportunity to engage with the city of Rome, connecting diverse artistic approaches.
The Fondazione Memmo, founded in 1990 by Roberto Memmo, aims to bring the public closer to art through exhibitions and cultural initiatives. Since 2012, under the leadership of Fabiana Marenghi Vaselli Bond and Anna d’Amelio Carbone, the institution has focused exclusively on the contemporary artistic scene, helping to create a bridge between Rome and the international art landscape. The foundation received the prestigious Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award in 2018, which enabled it to launch an artistic residency program in London in collaboration with Gasworks, further solidifying its role as a cultural promoter. The Conversation Piece project is among the foundation's most significant and enduring initiatives, capable of connecting artists and the public through a common language.
In addition to the ongoing exhibition in Rome, Palazzo Strozzi in Florence is hosting the largest exhibition ever held in Italy dedicated to Tracey Emin from March 16, 2025, to July 20, 2025. Curated by Arturo Galansino, this exhibition explores Emin's multidisciplinary work, showcasing paintings, drawings, sculptures, and videos, including historical, recent, and new productions made for the occasion. Emin, one of the most influential figures in contemporary art, is known for transforming personal experiences into emotionally impactful works. Her direct and visceral style delves into themes such as love, sexuality, solitude, and vulnerability, offering the audience a deep immersion into her emotions.
The exhibition, titled "Tracey Emin: Sex and Solitude," presents a unique opportunity to discover her art in a dialogue with the Renaissance architecture of Florence. This exhibition is a chance to engage with universal themes such as love, loss, and self-discovery through Emin's direct and emotional visual language. The title encapsulates two central themes of Emin's artistic research: sexuality and solitude, reflecting her use of her body and personal experiences as starting points for exploring desire, love, vulnerability, and introspection.
Among the over 60 works on display, many of which have never been shown in Italy before, notable pieces include I Followed You To The End (2024), a monumental bronze sculpture located in the courtyard of Palazzo Strozzi, and Exorcism of the last painting I ever made (1996), an installation reconstructing the performance that marked Emin's return to painting. Text-based works such as the neon Those who Suffer LOVE (2009) and the embroidery I do not expect (2002) express the artist's experiences in a direct and emotional manner, resonating powerfully with the audience. The exhibition's thematic journey intertwines life and art, retracing significant moments in Emin's career. Her works evoke contrasting emotions, from the passionate intensity of her expressionist paintings, such as There was blood (2022), to the fragility embodied in her bronze sculptures, like All I want is you (2016).
Tracey Emin's work is rooted in an artistic tradition that draws from figuration and expressionism. Her connections with artists like Edvard Munch and Egon Schiele are evident in the gestural quality and emotional intensity of her pieces. Exhibiting in a historic venue like Palazzo Strozzi creates a fascinating contrast between her contemporary art and Florence's Renaissance heritage. In addition to the exhibition, Palazzo Strozzi offers a program of events and activities for the public, including guided tours and thematic meetings, a series of lectures on sex, body, and emotions with experts from various fields, and educational workshops for schools and families.
Tracey Emin was born in 1963 in Croydon, London, and grew up in the coastal town of Margate. Throughout her career, she has developed an artistic practice that spans drawing, painting, tapestries, embroidery, film, bronze sculptures, and neon installations. Emin draws inspiration from her life, referencing deeply personal experiences: from her sexual history to abuse, abortion, and emotional relationships, and more recently, cancer and health challenges. In 1999, she gained significant media attention when nominated for the Turner Prize and exhibited My Bed at the Tate Gallery in London. This work, created during a period of emotional instability, depicts the artist's unmade bed surrounded by personal items and remnants, such as used condoms, blood-stained linens, empty alcohol bottles, and cigarette butts. Since then, Emin's career has experienced steady growth; she represented the UK at the 52nd Venice Biennale in 2007 and was appointed Professor of Drawing at the Royal Academy in 2011, becoming one of the first two women to hold this position in the institution's history. Today, Emin is widely recognized institutionally, having recently inaugurated the Tracey Karima Emin (TKE) Studios in Margate, a professional space for artists fully funded by her, which includes the Tracey Emin Artist Residency (TEAR), a free studio residency for artists. In 2024, she was awarded the title of "Dame" in recognition of her contributions to art.
