Diego Gelosi's Red Roses Transform Milan Streets into Love Memorials

On the night of June 12-13, 2023, artist Diego Gelosi (born 1999 in Pavullo nel Frignano) affixed sixty red roses along Corso di Porta Romana in Milan, between Crocetta and Piazza delle Medaglie d'Oro, using black adhesive tape marked with an identification number. Over the following days, some roses were removed, others wilted or dried. The installation, conceived as an expression of romantic love and sharing, adopts the wall-mounting method typically used to commemorate lost loved ones. Gelosi, who initially focused on electronic music, now explores new expressive modes for his emotions. In an interview with Artribune, he explained: "Leaving roses near house intercoms, freeing myself of my love and dispersing it, hoping it finds a home outside my body. Not only for relief, but also to create a discourse of love between me and the community." He noted that sentimental discourse is marginalized in contemporary society, which prioritizes sexual issues, and referenced a 1977 Playboy interview with Roland Barthes who stated that love is out of fashion in intellectual circles. Together with photographer Andrea Zendali (born 2000 in Milan) and artist Giulio Gatto (born 2000 in Milan), Gelosi founded the collective Senzapretese, which meets regularly at a workspace in the warehouse of Erboristeria Colombo in Milan.