Nothing can match the beauty of the painting that gives the project its title, so the new works, set up around the masterpiece by Caravaggiothey immediately try to contrast each other: they are the “Seven Works of Mercy” donated by artists to Pio Monte della Misericordia. It is the result of an initiative whereby the organization awards seven scholarships to young contemporary art talents and receives new acquisitions from established ones. From today to November 13th the works of Beatrice Caracciolo, Edgar Honetschlager, Andrew Huston, Mariko Mori, Carlsten Nicolai, Serena Scapagnini and Juergen Teller; they are added to those given away in past editions by Janis Kounellis, Anish Kapoor, Mimmo Jodice and Mimmo Paladino.
The one just inaugurated is the seventh edition and, in homage to numerology, it is more special than the others: «We have also managed to increase the scholarships to seven, in addition to money, young people will be able to visit the Venice Biennale to see up close how the international scene is developing,” he says Maria Grazia Leonetti Rodinò who was the governor of cultural heritage of Pio Monte and created the project 11 years ago together with Mario Codognato. «The idea is to continue on the path traced by the founders of the institute, 4 centuries ago, who also acquired the works of those who were then a talent of contemporary art of the time: Merisi, Battistello Caracciolo, Luca Giordano and the others. When we developed the project, Pio Monte lacked a focus on contemporary art and so, by acquiring new works and encouraging artistic practice among young people, we revived a tradition: one in two artists who received our grant continued to work in this field”, concludes Leonetti.
«The initiative not only creates a continuity between past and present but through the testimonies of the artists it aspires to create a reflection on contemporaneity and the future: the true purpose and goal of art», comments Codognato who selected the artists. Honetschlager created a portrait of Caravaggio by painting an upside down chair, there is a dark and stylized cross sculpted by Huston and a curious little disk of a few centimeters covered in gold that Nicolai called «Kagami», which in Japanese means «mirror» . Scapagnini has created a surface that creates an effect of dematerialization of the image, Teller a photograph of a forest in Lithuania, Caracciolo a canvas with a spectacular effect in which a vortex of elements comes into conflict, finally Mori a digital image that evokes the ancestral roots of humanity.
It’s up to the governor Fabrizia Paternò of San Nicola present the non-artistic innovations of Pio Monte: «From today the institute has a bookshop with innovations in the field of museum merchandising, products of great attraction both for the local public and for international tourism: they will recall the world of Caravaggio and will reflect the character of the soul of Pio Monte as a social institution. It is run by artem. And a snack bar, created from the entrance spaces; she will serve to welcome the many visitors who frequent our environments. The name, clearly, could only be Seven.”
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