Eight Sicilian Artists Reimagine the Nativity at RizzutoGallery in Palermo

RizzutoGallery in Palermo presents 'Presepi d’artista #4', an exhibition of contemporary nativity scenes by eight Sicilian artists, on view from December 18, 2021 to January 6, 2022. Curated by gallerists Eva Oliveri and Giovanni Rizzuto, the show features works by Daniele Franzella, Luigi Citarrella, Francesco De Grandi, Alessandro Bazan, Giuseppe Agnello, Sergio Zavattieri, Francesca Polizzi, and Andrea Cusumano. Each artist was invited to create a personal interpretation of the nativity, moving beyond traditional craft into painting, sculpture, and installation. The first three editions (2014, 2015, 2018) are shown alongside the latest, all from the gallerists' private collection and not for sale. Franzella's 'Wunderschrank' (2014) presents a cabinet of curiosities referencing the Holocaust; Citarrella's 'Lexorandi, lexcredendi' (2014) captures the agony of waiting in white ceramic; De Grandi's untitled 2015 work uses a magic lantern-inspired device; Bazan's painting adopts a naive style; Agnello's 'Annunciazione' (2016) contrasts black resin with milky white; Zavattieri's installation evokes a 19th-century stereoscope with plastic figurines; Polizzi's piece references Giotto in brass and rosin; and Cusumano's 'arca' is a theatrical shadow box. The exhibition explores the intersection of sacred art, contemporary aesthetics, and theatricality.