Christian Caliandro argues art should not be a refuge from the present

In an opinion piece for Artribune, art historian Christian Caliandro critiques contemporary art's obsession with the past, arguing that nostalgia serves as a form of amnesia and a refusal to confront the present. He cites Bulgarian writer Georgi Gospodinov's novel 'Cronorifugio' (Time Shelter), winner of the 2021 Strega Europeo Prize, which describes 'chrono-shelters' where people willingly retreat into the past. Caliandro contends that idealizing the past makes one incapable of imagining the future, and that art should instead engage with 'objective unpredictability' as defined by Antonin Artaud—a concept that brings metaphysical fear to the stage. He distinguishes between 'works of relief' that soothe and works that speak truthfully about living. The article is part of a series on 'fringed art' and its relationship with nostalgia.