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Monica Biancardi's 'Manodopera' Book Captures Hands in Portrait Series

publication · 2026-05-04

Monica Biancardi's 'Manodopera' (Contrasto, €29.90, 112 pp.) chronicles her enduring 'Ritratti' project, which emphasizes hands over faces. Initiated in the late 1990s, this project has been showcased numerous times since 2003, with the latest exhibition at the Museo di Roma in Trastevere. Biancardi's black-and-white images, framed by blue neon, create a blend of irony and reverence, resembling secular altars. The book features contributions from writers such as Alberto Abruzzese, Silvana Bonfili, and Tomaso Montanari. Her subjects include both everyday individuals and prominent figures, including residents of Casso, a village abandoned post-Vajont disaster, earning her the Dolomiti Contemporanee prize in 2015. Biancardi's work examines how hands express character and labor, drawing inspiration from Gian Lorenzo Bernini's 'Santa Bibiana.' Her upcoming project, 'Punti di Vista,' is set to launch in a new Naples venue in mid-February 2019.

Key facts

  • Monica Biancardi published the book 'Manodopera' with Contrasto, priced at €29.90.
  • The book documents the 'Ritratti' project, which began in the late 1990s.
  • The project features portraits emphasizing hands over faces.
  • Photographs are black-and-white with blue neon frames.
  • The project was exhibited at Museo di Roma in Trastevere in winter 2018-2019.
  • Biancardi won the Dolomiti Contemporanee prize in 2015 for a project in Casso.
  • Casso is a village abandoned after the Vajont disaster.
  • The book includes texts by ten authors including Alberto Abruzzese and Goffredo Fofi.
  • Biancardi's work 'Punti di Vista' will open in Naples in mid-February 2019.
  • Biancardi cites Bernini's 'Santa Bibiana' as an influence.

Entities

Artists

  • Monica Biancardi
  • Gian Lorenzo Bernini

Institutions

  • Contrasto
  • Museo di Roma in Trastevere
  • Dolomiti Contemporanee
  • Radio3 RAI
  • il manifesto
  • Artribune

Locations

  • Rome
  • Italy
  • Museo di Roma in Trastevere
  • Padula
  • Salerno
  • Casso
  • Pordenone
  • Dolomiti
  • Naples
  • Vajont

Sources