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“Sette Opere PER La Misericordia” (Seven Works of Mercy) at the Italian Cultural Institute in London

sette miracoli della misericordia2Ambassador Terracciano giving the opening remarks, next to Director Delogu


Exhibition (15 March – 30 April 2017) of contemporary works by international artists, including the British artist Anish Kapoor, inspired by Caravaggio’s Seven Works of Mercy with proceeds to good
causes

Seven Works of Mercy, a project by Maria Grazia Leonetti Rodinò, was inaugurated yesterday evening at the Italian Cultural Institute. The project was run in collaboration with the Pio Monte della Misericordia institution and is curated by Mario Codognato.

The exhibition brings a vast collection of contemporary artworks inspired by Caravaggio’s Seven Works of Mercy outside Italy for the first time. The original is still displayed in the church of the same name in Naples. The eponymous project, which is in its fifth edition, was born out of the idea of relaunching the combination of art and solidarity towards those worse off, a practice that can be traced back to Neapolitan society of the 17th century.

The Italian ambassador, Pasquale Terracciano, and Marco Delogu, the director of the Cultural Institute, both gave speeches at the event. The Ambassador commented afterwards: “I am delighted that the first time that this project has been taken outside Italy it has come to London. The international nature of London allows many people – and not only our British friends – to come into contact with the great Parthenopean tradition represented by the splendid Pio Monte collection.”

The 33 works displayed at the Cultural Institute were donated to the Pio Monte della Misericordia institution by world-renowned artists. Since its foundation in 1602, the institution has run projects offering social assistance which continue to this day. The international artists who are taking part in the 2017 edition of the event have contributed with the same spirit to the current social assistance effort: fundraising for scholarships at the Academy of Fine Arts in Naples, for deserving students who cannot afford the fees.

The works displayed pay homage to Caravaggio’s masterpiece but also reflect the style and individual technique of 33 artists who contributed to the project:
Marisa Albanese, Maria Thereza Alves, Carlos Alberto de Arauio, Antonio Biasiucci, Antonio Salvino De Campos, Roberto Caracciolo, Sandro Chia, Francesco Clemente, Ross Clifford, Flavio Colusso, Piero Golia, Douglas Gordon, Candida Hoeffer, Rachel Howard, Mimmo Jodice, Anish Kapoor, Joseph Kosuth, Jannis Kounellis, Henrietta Labouchere, Mariangela Levita, Olaf Nicolai, Mimmo Paladino, Giulia Piscitelli, Lorenzo Sotto di Luzio, Charles Skapin, Grazia Toderi, Nasan Tur, Franz West and Gilberto Zorio.

Additional works were also contributed to the current exhibition by David Batchelor, Ileana Florescu, Johnnie Shand Kydd and Paul Thorel.

sette miracoli della misericordia1The main hall at the Italian Cultural Institute with part of the works on exhibition

 

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