Federico Solmi's 'Ship of Fools' Debuts in Venice During Biennale

Federico Solmi (Bologna, 1973) presents a solo exhibition 'Solmi – Ship of Fools' at Palazzo Donà delle Rose in Venice from April 18 to July 28, 2024, coinciding with the 60th Venice Biennale. The show spans over a decade of his work across gaming, cinema, painting, and ceramics, featuring a new monumental painting 'Ship of Fools' (3x6 meters) inspired by Géricault's 'The Raft of the Medusa', Plato's Republic, and Sebastian Brant's 1494 book illustrated with 114 woodcuts. Curated by Dorothy Kosinski and Renato Miracco, the exhibition is organized with Var Digital Art by Var Group and supported by the Phillips Collection (Washington DC) and the Thoma Foundation (Chicago–Santa Fe). It includes videos, paintings, ceramic sculptures, and a VR work, with sound design by Grammy-winning Marc Urselli. The immersive experience critiques Western power structures, depicting Julius Caesar chased by paparazzi, Garibaldi in a limousine, Sitting Bull and Inca Emperor Pachacuti as rockstars, and Elon Musk portraying Kim Kardashian in apocalyptic bacchanals. Solmi describes the work as the culmination of a cycle begun during the pandemic, closing a chapter to embark on a new artistic adventure.