Beatrice Pediconi's Ghostly Flowers at z2o Gallery in Rome

Beatrice Pediconi (Rome, 1972) presents her fourth solo exhibition at z2o gallery in Rome, curated by Sara Zanin. The show features medium and small-format paintings of ghostly botanical presences—white, abiotic flowers that exist in a timeless, placeless dimension. Pediconi's practice combines painting, drawing, and photography, using Polaroid emulsion scraps transferred onto pre-painted canvas and paper. The extreme minimalism evokes the Japanese shinrin-yoku (forest bathing) ritual, inviting viewers into a quiet, zen-like space. Curator Antonello Tolve describes her works as 'fitomorfemi'—graphemes, chromemes, and minimal elements that form incomplete, atelic icons. The exhibition title, '...senza turbare una stella', is a verse by poet Francis Thompson. Pediconi, who lives in New York, began her floral investigations in Rome with the cycle 'Corpi sottili' (2006), continued with 'Untitled' (2019), and presented 'Nude' at the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna (GNAM) in 2023. Her works reference Pre-Raphaelite painters like Waterhouse, incorporating wildflowers such as mallow, white daisy, sage, centaury, and many others. The titles result from careful research, blending floral names, text fragments, aphorisms, and reflections from artists and intellectuals. Pediconi's process transcends traditional painting, veering into the conceptual and undermining first impressions.