Luigi Manciocco's Immersive Installation at Palazzo Crepadona

Luigi Manciocco (Colleferro, 1950) has transformed the Mario Botta-designed Cube of Palazzo Crepadona in Belluno into a dark, immersive space. The walls are painted black, and the room contains two large circular works: one white traversed by a blood drop resembling a tear, and one black covered in gold-plated bees forming a constellation. Three large screens display the face of Saint Rita of Cascia, beatified in 1628 and canonized in 1900. Manciocco's inspiration stems from Yves Klein's pilgrimage to the saint's monastery and his 1961 prayer asking for beautiful works. Nicolas Charlet's catalog essay recounts that Pierre Restany visited the monastery in 1980 and saw a plexiglass box offered by Klein to the saint. The bees reference a legend of insects gathering around Saint Rita's cradle; the blood alludes to a stigma on her forehead. The exhibition, titled "Relazioni possibili" and curated by Angela Madesani, runs until June 8, 2016, at Palazzo Crepadona.