Giuseppe Caccavale's Synesthetic Poetry-Painting at Doppelgaenger Bari

At Doppelgaenger gallery in Bari, Giuseppe Caccavale (born 1960 in Afragola) presents a synesthetic project curated by Chiara Bertola, translating Osip Mandelstam's 1930s 'Conversation about Dante' (published in Russia in 1967) into a mural of painted words and figures. Caccavale converts poetry into speaking painting using Italian and Cyrillic script in decorative patterns that form silhouettes around pastel drawings of hands, eyes, and faces. His visual language draws from Benedictine monks, Flemish painters, and medieval artists like Rabanus Maurus and Opicino de Canistris. The cerulean blue background creates an atmospheric, installation-like quality. On the lower register, Mandelstam's 'Ottave' poems appear in rhythmic layouts alongside photographs taken by the artist in Armenia, counterpointing the dense mural score.