Niclas Castello's Golden Cube Lands in Hell at 61st Venice Biennale
At the 61st Venice Biennale, Niclas Castello showcases 'La diabolica commedia: Prelude' at FàBRICA33, where he connects Dante's Divine Comedy to modern history. This exhibition includes more than 220 oil pastel drawings that associate historical figures and events with Dante's vision of the afterlife, arranged within a planned labyrinth of 298 paintings across 149 Plexiglas cases, covering 900 square meters. Currently, these works are displayed on movable plywood structures. Featured in one depiction of Hell is Castello's golden cube, The Castello Cube, crafted from 186 kilograms of 24-karat gold, which was previously shown in Central Park in February 2022 and at the 59th Biennale. Since 2022, the project has employed generative AI to illustrate the stark contrast between the crowded Hell and the empty Paradise, prompting reflections on contemporary art's resilience against critique.
Key facts
- Niclas Castello's exhibition 'La diabolica commedia: Prelude' is on view at FàBRICA33 in Venice during the 61st Biennale.
- The project includes over 220 oil pastel drawings assigning historical events and figures to Dante's Divine Comedy.
- The planned labyrinth will be 900 square meters, with 298 paintings in 149 Plexiglas cases.
- The Castello Cube, a 186 kg 24-karat gold sculpture, appears in a drawing placed in Hell.
- The cube was exhibited in Central Park in February 2022 and later in Venice during the 59th Biennale.
- Castello used generative AI, including ChatGPT, but found it conflated Dante's cantos and required months of correction.
- The exhibition shows Hell densely populated while Paradise is sparse, reflecting cultural bias toward catastrophe.
- The cube was declared never to be sold or owned, but its material value was always apparent.
Entities
Artists
- Niclas Castello
- Dante Alighieri
- Virgil
Institutions
- FàBRICA33
- Contemporary Lynx
- Central Park
- Ca' di Dio
- 59th Venice Biennale
- 61st Venice Biennale
Locations
- Venice
- Italy
- New York
- United States
- Wall Street