10am-6pm
Camilla Nacci Zanetti
This exhibition explores the concept of monstrosity, blending contemporary art with history, science, and ethnographic testimonies.
Beyond the fascination for the prodigious—rooted in the Latin term “monstrum”—this research and curation project delves into deformity, the horrors of war and colonialism, fears associated with femininity, and the taboo of death. The result is a uid and anti-disciplinary installation that oers multiple perspectives on our perception of separateness.
Monstrosity is a historical concept, recurring in propaganda as well as in both collective and individual perception. This approach has guided the Fondazione Museo Storico del Trentino in selecting diverse sources—photographs, drawings, letters, postcards, and posters—where deformed, repugnant, frightening, and unsettling gures emerge.
Yet, the monster is also wondrous. Through painting, sculpture, installations, video, performance, and an immersive soundscape, the artists on display reinterpret the imagery of the monstrous. Their works navigate between outsider art, pop surrealism, and a new primitivism, where the aesthetic categories of “beauty” and “ugliness” intertwine seamlessly.
Complementing the exhibition, objects from the MuSe collections illustrate the anthropological interest in pseudosciences, while carnival masks from METS and private collections highlight the deep connection between monstrosity and ritual, emphasizing the therapeutic function of fear.
Project by: Alchemica APS
Concept and curatorship: Camilla Nacci Zanetti
Artists: David Aaron Angeli, Tommaso Buldini, Chiara Calore, Anna De los Reyes, Fulvio Di Piazza, Francesco Diluca, Bruno Fantelli, Agata Ferrari Bravo, Gelitin, Andrew Gilbert, Naomi Gilon, Silvia Governa, Valentyna Kuzmyk, Federico Lanaro, Mad Meg, Angelo Maisto, Laurina Paperina, Denis Riva, Dora Poi, Dionysis Saraij, Virginia Sartori, Sylvie Selig, Solomostry, Julia Switaj, Flaminia Veronesi, Pietro Weber
For the Trentino Historical Museum Foundation.: Roberta Tait (Head of The Galleries), Lorenzo Gardumi, Luca Nicolodi, Sara Zanatta (content selection and text writing)
For METS.: Luca Faoro (consevator)
For MuSe.: Carlo Maiolini (cultural mediator), Maria Chiara Deflorian (conservator).
Texts: Camilla Nacci Zanetti, Ivonne Dalla Torre, FMST – Fondazione Museo Storico del Trentino, METS – Museo Etnografico Trentino San Michele all’Adige, MUSE – Museo delle Scienze, Trento
Translations: Melinda Meuse
Graphic design and communication: Ivonne Dalla Torre
Photo: Giorgio Gori
Video: Michele Facchinelli
Teaching and editing: Cristina Locatelli
Lenders: Cellar Contemporary, Trento, D406 – Fedeli alla Linea, Modena, FMST – Fondazione Museo Storico del Trentino LABS Gallery, Bologna, METS – Museo Etnografico Trentino San Michele all’Adige, MUSE – Museo delle Scienze, Trento, Studio d’Arte Raffaelli, Trento, Private Collections
With the contribution of.: Caritro Foundation
Technical partner: ITAS Mutual
Institutional Partners: CARME Association, Brescia, Pequod Company, Trento
