Miltos Manetas' 'Condizione Assange' Exhibition Remains Closed to Public at Palazzo delle Esposizioni

Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome inaugurates its 'Phase 2' on May 11 with Miltos Manetas' project 'Condizione Assange,' an exhibition that will remain physically closed to the public even after the museum reopens on May 18, the symbolic date of 'Phase 3' of the Coronavirus emergency. The show, consisting of 40 oil-on-canvas portraits, pays homage to Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder who spent seven years in the Ecuadorian embassy in London and now faces extradition to the US. The project began before the Covid-19 pandemic, focusing on Assange's isolation. According to Palazzo delle Esposizioni president Cesare Pietroiusti, Manetas paints one portrait daily and posts it on Instagram, donating each to the first person who requests it, creating an 'economy of the gift.' The exhibition will be documented photographically and communicated via the institution's and artist's channels, but will not physically open to visitors, even when the museum can welcome the public again. Pietroiusti explains that the exhibition aims to confront the uncertainty and isolation experienced during the pandemic, mirroring Assange's condition. The works are described as 'paintings in quarantine,' representing a symbolic crossroads of revelation and silencing. The exhibition is intended to signal the importance of hidden depths and the power behind silence, marking a strong break with the iconic voices of the early 2000s.