Mart confirms its focus on contemporary idioms, widely explored and promoted through projects carried out at the Galleria Civica in Trento. It is presenting the first museum exhibition of works by the young Venetian artist Barbara De Vivi.

De Vivi was born in 1992 and studied at Atelier F of the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice. De Vivi  prefers figurative painting, and in her work, she combines traditional iconographic motifs with personal experiences.

In her intimate and powerfully resonant universe, painting and drawing become tools for psychological investigation. She explores the complex dynamics of identity, the body and emotional relationships. Her relationship with her sister is the central theme of the piece. This emblematic figure appears in her works as a double, a visual and conceptual echo of the artist herself. This way, De Vivi takes on the theme of the double – deeply rooted in the history of art and psychoanalysis – and offers a new and personal interpretation.

The exhibition features over 40 works, many of which were created specifically for this occasion. The works on exhibit also include some precious, previously unseen works on paper in large format.

The guiding image of the project draws from an extensive series on paper in small format, which is part of the series Disegni dall’archivio [Drawings from the Archive, 2024/2025]. It depicts two twin sisters embracing each other. Here, as in other works in the exhibition, there is a clear reflection on the theme of the double as a formal tool for projecting oneself onto another subject and creating an external point of view on human dynamics, and emotional and psychological states.

The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue that will be published by Mart, with contributions from curators Gabriele Lorenzoni and Carlo Sala and an essay by art historian Miriam Rejas Del Pino.