Lucìe. Nicola Samorì
9 October 2020 - 14 March 2021
Curated by Denis Isaia

For over a decade, Samorì has devoted his research to Christian saints and martyrs, and to Saint Lucy in particular. As is well known, Saint Lucy is the patron saint of sight and vision, two concepts that also conjure up the opposing themes of darkness and blindness.
In this Mart exhibition, and in dialogue with Caravaggio, forgotten women martyrs and saints such as Saint Lucy take their rightful place as the protagonists of Samorì's works. Samorì cuts, scrapes and tears at his canvases in order to emphasise his depictions of tortured, emaciated bodies, and voices of times gone, which echo and meld together.
Samorì paints contemporary pieces inspired by the classical era. The artist transforms and deconstructs certain elements using modern techniques and contemporary aesthetics in order to combine artistic intellect from two distant eras.


Luciano Ventrone. The great illusion
9 October 2020 - 5 April 2021
Curated by Victoria Noel-Johnson

This exhibition features a series of hyper-realistic still lifes by Luciano Ventrone, who was once hailed ‘the Caravaggio of the twentieth century’ by Federico Zeri and is well-known for his astonishing painted reproductions of scenes that often appear more real than real life. In this exhibition, Ventrone's paintings engage in a stimulating dialogue with Caravaggio's artworks.
On display as part of Luciano Ventrone. The great illusion are 18 themed works, presented in parallel with Caravaggio. The Contemporary in order to offer visitors the opportunity to explore this unique connection in more detail. The act of comparing Ventrone and Caravaggio is made even more interesting by the juxtaposition of two paintings by Piero Marussig and Allegoria della Primavera, a painting by the Master of Hartford and Carlo Saraceni (early 17th century), which was once attributed by Zeri to a young Caravaggio.
The art critic's identification has since been rectified, but the weight behind his theory remains. Zeri was able to pinpoint the beginnings of Italy's still life movement, in an era and context very close to that of Caravaggio. Ventrone's artworks are exhibited at the Mart in order to further explore references to the great seventeenth-century artist.