la tempeste nel bicchiere

curated by saverio verini

Mario airò

gregorio botta

daniele di girolamo

beatrice pediconi

alberto savinio

francesca antonini arte contemporanea, rome

from may 6th 2025

Francesca Antonini Arte Contemporanea is pleased to present La tempesta nel bicchiere, group show curated by Saverio Verini with artworks by Mario Airò, Gregorio Botta, Daniele Di Girolamo, Beatrice Pediconi and Alberto Savinio.

In the history of art and images, water is a constant presence, embracing the sacred and the profane, to the point of including the most diverse uses by contemporary art, which has seen the creation of works precisely from the “material” qualities of water. A central element of the exhibition, water is here presented not so much in its sublime character of an expanding, irrepressible and impetuous force, but in its character as a “gentle” and circumscribable liquid. The works on display explore its essence, focusing on its most delicate and controlled aspects: an invitation to reflect on its ability to adapt to forms and spaces, to flow gently and to nourish without overwhelming. In the artists' works, water does not impose itself, but adapts to the materials that guard it and modify its course, indulging its forms.
The exhibition finds its ideal starting point in a work by Alberto Savinio, Turbine o storia vera - La nostra nave fu innalzata da un fulmine, a small-format drawing where the waves of the sea take the form of a stylized vortex. Starting from this image, which was a source of inspiration for the entire exhibition project, artists whose practices manifested a non-occasional use of water consistent with the “temperature” of the exhibition have been involved.

Mario Airò and Gregorio Botta enclose water in glass and copper caskets with a sculptural matrix, while for Beatrice Pediconi it is a necessary element in the creation of floral and evocative images that float on the canvas. Finally, in Daniele Di Girolamo's work, water is present through a sound installation that evokes its constant flow.