Evgeny Antufiev's 'Dead Nations, Eternal Version' at Rome's National Etruscan Museum

Russian artist Evgeny Antufiev (b. 1986), known for his archaeological interests and collection of artifacts from various cultures, opened his solo exhibition 'Dead Nations, Eternal Version' on June 11, 2021 at the National Etruscan Museum of Villa Giulia in Rome. Curated by Marina Dacci and Svetlana Marich, the show engages with the 16th-century villa built in 1555 for Pope Julius III and the Etruscan civilization. The exhibition unfolds in two parts: outdoors, a travertine obelisk in the courtyard esplanade features carved symbols and animals, complemented by a mask fountain with running water and a terracotta vase in the Nymphaeum that dialogues with caryatid figures. Inside, Antufiev inserts his own objects into display cases of Etruscan funerary artifacts from private collections, including that of philosopher Athanasius Kirchner. The works are mostly lost-wax bronze casts, sometimes enriched with raw amber fragments, blending symbolic archetypes with fantastic bestiaries. The finale is a gallery covered in gold threads, evoking the artist's 1980s childhood memories of superheroes and discos, combining disco mythology with a museum wunderkammer featuring obelisk-shaped vitrines filled with symbolic objects. The exhibition reinterprets Etruscan funerary rites in a contemporary key, demonstrating Antufiev's ability to understand the present through celebration of the ancient.