Silvia Giambrone's 'I Lie' Confronts Gender Violence at Saltoun Gallery Rome

Silvia Giambrone's first solo exhibition at Richard Saltoun Gallery in Rome, curated by Paola Ugolini, exposes the lies of gender equality and patriarchal denial through installations that transform domestic spaces into sites of concealed violence. The show features a neon sign declaring 'I Lie,' referencing the artist's assertion that women must pretend to be fine in a society where 6.4 million Italian women have experienced violence (ISTAT data, November 25, 2025). Works include 'Senza titolo con spine' (2017), chairs embedded with thorns; 'Vertigo' (2015), scanned objects printed on wrapping paper; 'Mirrors' (2026), exhibited at Versailles for Maison Dior in 2021; 'Cielo Stellato 1' (2026), steel stars evoking medieval torture; 'Cage #2' (2025) and 'Cage #3' (2026), delicate objects imprisoned in iron; 'Faglia n. 3' (2023), wallpaper cracks; 'Authenticity certificate' (2026), an orgasm's authenticity certificate; and 'Dura lex sed lex, Le Tavole della Legge del Tradimento' (2026), law tablets betraying trust. Giambrone's research spans performance, sculpture, installation, and video, examining power dynamics, subjugation, and invisible violence.