Lars von Trier and Per Kirkeby in Dialogue at Casa Masaccio

Casa Masaccio in San Giovanni Valdarno, Italy, a historic center for artistic experimentation housed in the birthplace of Renaissance painter Masaccio, is presenting the exhibition "L'idea di Nord" (The Idea of North), running until June 18, 2023. Curated by Rita Selvaggio, the show juxtaposes the cinematic work of Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier with sculptures and paintings by Danish artist Per Kirkeby (1938-2018). The exhibition draws inspiration from the recent Marco Melani Prize, awarded to von Trier in November 2022, which honors experimental and marginal filmmakers. The prize is named after Marco Melani, a renowned film critic from San Giovanni Valdarno, and was established in 2006 by Enrico Ghezzi. The exhibition explores the painterly qualities of von Trier's films, including "Breaking the Waves" (1996), "Dancer in the Dark" (2000), and "Antichrist" (2009), alongside Kirkeby's minimalist bronze and brick sculptures. It also references soundtracks featuring Leonard Cohen, Elton John, David Bowie, and others, and visual citations from art history by Albrecht Dürer, John Everett Millais, and Eugène Delacroix. The show highlights a dialogue between the two artists on themes of society, religion, and nature, critiquing bourgeois complacency and the commodification of art, echoing the Dogma 95 movement co-founded by von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg.