Chia and Greenaway Reimagine Genesis and Apocalypse at Spoleto Festival

For the 60th edition of the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, the Fondazione Carla Fendi presents GENESI – APOCALISSE: L'Inizio e il Compimento, a hybrid project blending painting and performance. On the vault of the Chiesa della Manna d'Oro, Sandro Chia (Florence, 1946) recreates a visionary Genesis akin to the Sistine Chapel. In the adjacent ex Museo Civico, Saskia Boddeke & Peter Greenaway (Newport, Wales, 1942) install a metaphorical Apocalypse emphasizing universal human rights. Architect Quirino Conti of Fondazione Fendi explains that after a period of frivolity, the desire to think resurfaces, and the Umbrian location prompted reflection on recent tragedies. The project pays homage to Carla Fendi, who had a long relationship with contemporary art, selecting Chia early in the collaboration with the festival. Greenaway was chosen for his recent performance work worldwide. On November 2, a concert at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome will honor the late fashion designer. The foundation's collaboration with the Festival di Spoleto will continue perpetually per Fendi's will. The closing concert will be conducted by Riccardo Muti, a close friend of Fendi. The foundation also recently funded three scholarships for piano students of Lilya Zilberstein at the Chigiana International Festival & Summer Academy.