Giorni Felici? Exhibition at ZACentrale Palermo Explores Happiness Through Art

The exhibition 'Giorni Felici?' (Happy Days?) at ZACentrale in Palermo, curated by Agata Polizzi for Fondazione Merz, expands on a previous project to investigate the concept of happiness. The title references Samuel Beckett's 'Happy Days' and the character Winnie's monologue. The show features works by Yuri Ancarani, Joanna Piotrowska, Francesco De Grandi, Silvia Giambrone, Per Barclay, and Chen Zhen. Ancarani's video installation 'Séance' depicts a ritualistic meal preparation with funereal undertones. Piotrowska's prints explore domesticity through sheet huts that constrain figures. De Grandi's large canvases present magical-realist landscapes. Giambrone's 'Mirror' shows a woman exposed to the viewer's gaze, echoing Winnie. Barclay's installation combines water, sound, and light in a greenhouse-panopticon. Chen Zhen's 'Jardin Lavoir' features everyday objects submerged in water in eleven beds, evoking post-apocalyptic melancholy reminiscent of Jannis Kounellis. The exhibition creates liminal spaces blurring inside and outside, posing questions about identity and dwelling.