The collective exhibition “On Love” brings together eight artists from different generations to explore the concept of love. Through a variety of mediums, Sabian Baumann, Zheng Bo, Leda Bourgogne, Giulia Crispiani, Soñ Gweha, Jeanne Jacob, Marta Margnetti, and Tomás Paula Marques reflect on love not only as a feeling but as a gesture that can nurture actions of political nature.
Curated by Gioia Dal Molin, the exhibition draws from conversations, reflections, and readings from recent years, including the writings of authors and thinkers such as bell hooks, Ursula K. Le Guin or Donna Haraway. The aim is to share ideas about the complex nature of love, recognizing its myriad forms that extend beyond the traditional view of heterosexual romantic relationships: Jeanne Jacob explores love from a queer-feminist perspective through oil paintings, while Giulia Crispiani reflects on the political and anarchical power of love.
Soñ Gweha creates a multisensory installation exploring the power of queer eroticism and its relationship with care and healing. Zheng Bo challenges traditional ideas of coexistence between humans and nature through video works exploring interspecies relationships. Sabian Baumann addresses themes of gendering and social norms through drawings and installations, encouraging critical reflection on the notions of subjectivity, sexuality, and love. Leda Bourgogne explores love through manual labor, reflecting on the experience of loss and the process of healing. Marta Margnetti draws inspiration from Ursula K. Le Guin to delve into untold life stories and relationships through ceramic works. Tomás Paula Marques weaves queer-feminist stories through short films exploring desire and love in various historical contexts.
The exhibition challenges the concept of love as a capitalist product, reduced to a process of production and reproduction, and instead, it aims to explore new ideas and approaches to love. How can we narrate the love story differently? In what ways can love be a political act? What new worlds can we create? Through these questions, “On Love” emphasises that love is not only a personal experience but has deep and relevant social and political implications.
Participating artists:
Sabian Baumann Zheng Bo, Leda Bourgogne Giulia Crispiani, Soñ Gweha, Jeanne Jacob, Marta Margnetti, Tomás Paula Marques.
Curated by
Gioia Dal Molin
at Istituto Svizzero, Rome
until June 30, 2024