Mangano & van Rooy's Ceramic-Manna Works at Castelbuono

The Museo Civico di Castelbuono in Sicily presents 'Il taglio, l’innesto, il castello,' an exhibition by artist duo Domenico Mangano (Palermo, 1976) and Marieke van Rooy (Weert, 1974). Curated by Valentina Bruschi, the show results from a residency at the Castello dei Ventimiglia, where the artists experimented with ceramics grafted with manna, a substance extracted from ash tree trunks native to the Madonie region. Works include an environmental installation with ceramic sculptures, a wall painting, a wood trunk sculpture activated during a performance, and ten engraved copper plates inscribed with texts in English and Sicilian dialect that must be read backwards. The project won the PAC-Piano per l’Arte Contemporanea 2020 grant from the Direzione Generale Creatività Contemporanea of the Ministero della Cultura, and involved community participation through children's workshops and a public talk moderated by Maria Rosa Sossai. Museum director Laura Barreca emphasized the initiative's role in interpreting local identity through contemporary art and craftsmanship. The exhibition is staged in the Sala di San Giorgio and Ex Scuderie, with collaboration from the Museo Naturalistico 'F. Minà Palumbo'.