Cesare Viel's 'Corpi estranei' at Villa Zito, Palermo

Cesare Viel's exhibition 'Corpi estranei/Toccare un tesoro' is on view at Villa Zito in Palermo, curated by Elisa Fulco, Giulia Ingarao, and Antonio Leone. The show juxtaposes Viel's contemporary works—including a large handwoven red rug with yellow-gold text by Iranian embroiderers—with 20th-century paintings from the Fondazione Sicilia collection, such as Renato Guttuso's 'Eruzione dell'Etna' (1934) and Pippo Rizzo's 'Il risveglio dell'Etna' (1934). The rug, acquired by Museo Riso, features the phrase 'Corpo estraneo. Toccare un tesoro o un mistero' (2022). Other works include 'In un punto del mondo' (paper sheets with handwritten instructions) and a hay-bale bed referencing Viel's 1999 performance 'Lost in meditation'. The exhibition is the final stage of a project that began in September 2022, spanning Italy and Spain, supported by the Italian Council grant and partners including Fondazione Pietro e Alberto Rossini, Universidad de Málaga, and Centre Pompidou Málaga. Viel's practice merges writing, performance, and visual art, creating dialogues with historical works by Filippo de Pisis, Fausto Pirandello, Mario Sironi, Armando Pizzinato, Carlo Carrà, and Galileo Chini.