Giulio Paolini installs permanent work at Teatro Franco Parenti in Milan

Giulio Paolini (Genoa, 1940) has created a permanent installation and collage series for Teatro Franco Parenti in Milan, marking the conclusion of the theater's 50th anniversary celebrations. The work, titled 'Ars scaenica,' is housed in the Palazzina dei Bagni Misteriosi, a 1930s complex restored in 2017. The installation features a plaster sphere at the center of a cardboard theater, a red velvet curtain, a globe balanced between two frames, an empty gold frame, and a photographic silhouette of the nymph Echo. Four collages accompany the installation. The work will be inaugurated on November 6, 2024, and can be viewed by guided tour on Wednesdays (6, 13, 20 November) from 6 to 7 PM. Paolini also created 30 numbered lithographs titled 'Sipario, 2024' (50 x 50 cm) to support the theater through donations. The theater was founded in 1972 as Salone Pier Lombardo by Franco Parenti, Andrée Ruth Shammah, Giovanni Testori, Dante Isella, and Gianmaurizio Fercioni. It was renamed in 1989 after Parenti's death. Paolini's collages pay homage to the theater's history and to Franco Parenti, while the installation reflects his personal interpretation of theater. In an interview, Paolini described the relationship between art and theater as distinct but complementary, each adhering to its own codes and mysteries.