Nari Ward's 'Gilded Darkness' Opens at Milan's Centro Balneare Romano

Nari Ward's exhibition 'Gilded Darkness' has opened at the Centro Balneare Romano in Milan, curated by Massimiliano Gioni for Fondazione Trussardi. The show features new works created for the occasion alongside existing sculptures and installations. Ward, born in St. Andrew, Jamaica in 1963 and based in Harlem, New York, uses discarded materials and everyday objects to address social and political issues such as racism, inequality, poverty, and consumerism. In an interview, he emphasized the importance of critical thinking in an age of misinformation and social media, and the role of art in fostering empathy and vulnerability. Key works include 'Amazing Grace', 'Emergence Pool', 'Radiant Smiles', and 'Backstroke Flag', the latter a site-specific installation of pool flags suspended by a crane over the pool, symbolizing constant reorientation. The exhibition engages with the site's history, dedicated to Olympic champion Guido Romano, by proposing a monument to vulnerability rather than victory.