Donatella Giagnacovo – CUORE NERO

Curated by Barbara Pavan
30.9 | 26.11.2023
Opening Saturday, September 30, 6 p.m.
The Dame of Capestrano – Multidisciplinary Art Space, via Aquila 7, Capestrano AQ
Info tel.+39 347 676 1404 | www.ladamadiscapestrano.com
Friday and Saturday 5-8 p.m.; Sunday 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

Opening Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023, at 6 p.m., at La dama di Capestrano – Multidisciplinary Art Space (Via Aquila 7) in Capestrano (AQ),“Cuore Nero”, the solo exhibition of Donatella Giagnacovo, curated by Barbara Pavan.

“Cuore Nero” is a representation of betrayal, of all betrayals. Not only of love in its deepest meaning, but of dreams, expectations, projects: through a large modular installation Giagnacovo delivers us a glimpse into the depths of reality, into its hidden side that we struggle to decipher, its black heart that we do not want to investigate, whose existence we prefer not to admit until, precipitating, we must necessarily discover it.

These hearts are forms that betray their own essence or, better said, are the ultimate and authentic essence of a narrative that appears other on the surface, the nature and substance of that dark shadow that by dressing the humanity of the individual reveals, paradoxically, its naked truth.

In a polysemous short-circuit of words and visual elements, the artist moves in search of the core of feelings and emotions, delving into the folds and nuances of events, phenomena and behaviors, individual and collective. Like a collector, she identifies and collects the anomaly of definitions that do not coincide with the actual manifestation they purport to identify, that betray the meaning behind them, the spirit of the promise that the term contains and guarantees: what is the semantic convergence – for example – between love and murder, between empathy and overwhelm, between love and rape, between care and exploitation, between respect and possession

Giagnacovo creates an archive of awareness, a herbarium of weeds, setting up a showcase in which to simultaneously observe and mirror oneself, a kind of magnifying glass that allows one to read signs and gestures in the smallest detail and in their rawness, cleansed of the misleading aura of the linguistic expressions with which they are conventionally catalogued, and attributing to each the responsibility of a betrayal – of meaning, of value, of perspective.

Installed in a secluded, secondary environment where evident traces and memories of other lives survive, “Cuore Nero” establishes an intimate and personal dialogue with the viewer. In this separate space – which by extension is one of the meanings of the sacred – a cathartic rite is consummated, a purification of the word that regains its full and coherent meaning, freed from degenerations and misunderstandings. If, in the collective imagination of a culture that has evolved from its Christian roots, the heart of Jesus constituted the representation of love elevated to its highest power, that of the divine, it is still from that same tradition that the last work that symbolically closes the circle is inspired: the heart of bread that in dividing and sharing with the other becomes a rite of rebirth and hope, nourishment, life.”

The exhibition will be on view until Nov. 26, 2023, Fridays and Saturdays from 5 to 8 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The artist

Donatella Giagnacovo graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in L’Aquila, Italy, as well as specializations and licenses for teaching art subjects. She has been a teacher of Pictorial Disciplines for the Liceo Artistico and of Drawing Laboratory and Art and Image Didactics at the Department of Education Sciences, University of L’Aquila.

Attentive to social dynamics, she proposes installations and participatory actions such as “Dolor et Spes” and “I 99” dedicated to her city following the 2009 earthquake.  Recent participations: “Inspiration,” curated by Erny Piret, Janina Monkute-Marks Museum, Lithuania; “Luco,” international exhibition, curated by Barbara Pavan, Galleria Italia, L’Aquila; “Unclassifiable” curated by ArtOUT, Sala delle Pietre, Todi; “Dal buio alla luce” Performative Action, Piazza del Popolo, Rome; “Il peso del vuoto,” solo exhibition, SCD Textile&Art Studio, Perugia; The XS Project, Galleria d’Arte Tessile Contemporanea Gina Morandini, Maniago; “Honor the Father,” performance; “Una ogni eleven minuti” SYART international festival, Villa Fiorentino, Sorrento; “Natus Iterum” Gagliano, Catanzaro; “Anti-camere,” curated by Lara Caccia, Corciano PG; Seminiamo Arte, MuBAQ Children’s Museum of L’Aquila, Fossa; “Di Bianche Spine” L’Aquila, F’Art Spazio Arti Visive Contemporanee.