AEVUM

MUSEO ETRUSCO GUARNACCI | archeological artefacts

AKIKO HIRAI (Japan/UK) – ceramics

ELEANOR HERBOSCH (Belgium) – painting

Palazzo dei Priori

8 July – 4 September 2022

Curated by Eleonora Raspi, KALPA Art Living, and Fabrizio Burchianti, Museo Etrusco Guarnacci

What role does ancient art still play in our contemporary imagination? AEVUM, first exhibition of the three annual TIMELESS ENCOUNTERS project, pursues an idea of a shared creativity and draws trajectories upon the traces of time and the universality of artistic feeling.

The word AEVUM indicates a state that logically lies between the eternity (timelessness) of God and the temporal experience of material beings. It is sometimes referred to as “improper eternity”: on this account, the exhibition draws trajectories upon the universality of artistic feeling and the fascination that ancient art holds on contemporary society.

Throughout the exhibition, the visitor is invited to change their perspective and reflect on the idea of a timeless creative experience, where present and past come together. The Museum’s three unique artworks are concerned with the Etruscan underworld, a true and profound cult of the deceased who, according to their religion, are destined to live eternally even after physical death. These pieces establish a mesmerising dialogue with the artworks of two contemporary artists selected by KALPA Art Living. The vivid, scratched marks made in oil, acrylic and clay of Eleanor Herbosch’s paintings, reminiscent of mysterious hieroglyphics, establish a connection with the same emotional charge of Etruscan writing. Next to these pieces, Akiko Hirai’s Moon Jars and Poppy Pod two series represent an exploration of contrast, of the juxtaposition of coarse clay and translucent glaze.

AEVUM, running from 8 of July to 4 of September 2022 in Palazzo dei Priori, inaugurates the three-annual project TIMELESS ENCOUNTERS | ETRUSCAN AND CONTEMPORARY ART and takes a part in the rich cultural programme of Volterra as First Tuscan City of Culture 2022. The exhibition project, promoted by Associazione Culturale Anima Silvae e Museo Etrusco Guarnacci, has been made possible thanks to the collaboration of the gallery KALPA Art Living and the generous support of Altair Chimica (Saline di Volterra) and MATTEOBRIONI srl (Gonzaga, Mantova). The exhibition is also supported by Comune di Volterra as part of the funding for the year of First Tuscan City of Culture 2022. The project is under the Patronage of Regione Toscana.

Photography by Simone Stanislai, courtesy of KALPA.