Chiara Ventura on Feminism, Body, and Thresholds in Art

Italian artist Chiara Ventura (b. 1997, Verona) discusses her practice addressing violence, identity, and relationships. She co-founded the collective Plurale in 2020 with Leonardo Avesani and Giulio Ancona, exploring empathetic existence and the 'expanded body.' Her solo exhibition 'Le maniglie dell’amore,' curated by Angel Moya Garcia at Tenuta Dello Scompiglio (Lucca), runs until April 13, 2025. The show features 110 door handles installed on a wall, each representing a femicide in Italy over one year, with victims' names, ages, locations, and brief news texts. Ventura uses the handle as a threshold symbol between inside/outside, intimacy/violence. She studied under Giovanni Morbin at the Academy of Fine Arts, crediting him for freeing her from technical constraints. Her performances often involve minimal gestures and public interventions. She cites artists Regina José Galindo, Marinella Senatore, Shirin Neshat, Teresa Margolles, and Laia Abril as influences. Ventura distinguishes between body and flesh as synonymous in her work, and admits contradictions in her vegetarian/vegan diet. She believes art can transmit implicit messages for social change, and that true change also happens through daily acts.