Francesco De Grandi's 'Aurea Hora' at Villa Zito, Palermo

Francesco De Grandi's exhibition 'Aurea Hora' at Villa Zito in Palermo (curated by Sergio Troisi) stages a dialogue between his contemporary paintings and 19th-century works from the Fondazione Sicilia collection. The show spans the last decade of De Grandi's output, opening with a triptych on Christ's life set in a dark, timeless Palermo. Works like 'Entrata di Cristo a Palermo' (2015) and 'Compianto al cristo morto' (2017) are juxtaposed with a 17th-century canvas attributed to Luca Giordano. Other pairings include De Grandi's 'Paesaggio innevato' (2014) with Francesco Lojacono's 'Campo di grano' (1880-90), and 'Naufragio' (2014) with Antonino Leto's 'La pesca del tonno' (1887). The exhibition also features installation-like projects: a large picture gallery mixing collection pieces with De Grandi's works, a green fluorescent forest room with two landscape paintings as windows, and a cabinet displaying an entire artist book. The title 'Aurea Hora' refers to the auroral light pervading the works, symbolizing origin and eternal return.