ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Davide D'Elia's FRESCO Series Bridges Past and Present at Bologna's Museo Davia Bargellini

exhibition · 2026-04-27

Davide D'Elia (born 1973, Cava de' Tirreni) presents his FRESCO series at the Museo Davia Bargellini in Bologna, where his works engage with the museum's historic collection and unchanged 17th-century installation. The series features vibrant blue paintings on plexiglass derived from a 16th-century fresco cycle in a Todi palace, with the artist deliberately obscuring and fragmenting the original references. The blue hue creates a temporal rift, while the works function as 'negative' presentations rather than representations. The exhibition highlights a contemporary trend of connecting past and present without falling into anachronism.

Key facts

  • Davide D'Elia was born in Cava de' Tirreni in 1973.
  • The exhibition is held at Museo Davia Bargellini in Bologna.
  • The FRESCO series includes works like 'FRESCO CALDO(4 dx)' from 2018.
  • The works are made with antifouling paint on plexiglass.
  • The series references a 16th-century fresco cycle from a palace in Todi.
  • The museum's installation has remained unchanged for centuries.
  • D'Elia's works create contrasts with the space and the collection.
  • The blue color dominates the intervention, opening a gap between eras.

Entities

Artists

  • Davide D'Elia

Institutions

  • Museo Davia Bargellini
  • Artribune

Locations

  • Bologna
  • Italy
  • Cava de' Tirreni
  • Todi

Sources