Living Collapse at Museo Madre: Neapolitan Presepe Reimagined by Three Artists

At the Museo Madre in Naples, the exhibition 'Living Collapse' reinterprets the Neapolitan presepe tradition through contemporary art. Curated by Samuele Piazza, the show features site-specific works by Andrea Bolognino, Effe Minelli, and Raffaela Naldi Rossano. The project is co-winner of the first edition of the Premio Meridiana, a prize promoted by the museum and the Amici del Madre ETS, with support from Antony Morato and Fondazione Tridama ETS, aimed at valorizing emerging curatorial and artistic research in Campania and Southern Italy. Piazza, who previously worked at OGR in Turin, drew inspiration from Robert Smithson's concept of 'ruins in reverse' and Elio Vittorini's quote 'Ogni cosa è tutte le cose'. The exhibition juxtaposes the artists' works with Jimmie Durham's 'Presepio' (2016) and a traditional presepe by Giuseppe Ercolano, exploring themes of ruins, decay, and renewal. Each artist occupies a dedicated room: Naldi Rossano's installation reflects on generative ruins and identity, Minelli's work confronts death with a hybrid grotesque figure in a mirrored room, and Bolognino's pieces incorporate organic elements like fungi and algae to transform discarded objects. The show runs until October 18, 2026, at the museum's location on Via Luigi Settembrini 79.