ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Paola Angelini's 'L'anno del Serpente' at Ascoli Piceno

exhibition · 2026-04-26

Paola Angelini (born 1983, San Benedetto del Tronto) presents 'L'anno del Serpente' at Ascoli Piceno, a show born from the loss of her father. The exhibition refuses confessional narrative, instead using painting as a space for unresolved questioning. The title references Arcade Fire's 'Year of the Snake' and the Chinese zodiac, evoking cyclical transformation and ambiguity. Large canvases disrupt spatial continuity, forcing slow, uncomfortable viewing. Key works include 'Where are we going? (pt 2 of 2)' (2025), built around a radical, unresolved question, and 'What is orange? Why, an Orange, just an Orange!' (2016), where ironic conceptualism clashes with emotional and chromatic saturation. 'Che vuol dir questa solitudine immensa? Ed io che sono?' (2025) structurally incorporates references to Leopardi and Osvaldo Licini, while 'Ritratto di Piero Martinello' offers relational concreteness without psychological directness. The show's strength lies in its unresolved tensions between intention and result, concept and matter, avoiding rhetoric of pain. Andrea Carnevali writes the review for Artribune.

Key facts

  • Paola Angelini's exhibition 'L'anno del Serpente' is on view at Ascoli Piceno.
  • The show is motivated by the death of the artist's father.
  • The title references Arcade Fire's song 'Year of the Snake' and the Chinese zodiac.
  • Works include 'Where are we going? (pt 2 of 2)' (2025), 'What is orange? Why, an Orange, just an Orange!' (2016), and 'Che vuol dir questa solitudine immensa? Ed io che sono?' (2025).
  • The exhibition features large canvases that disrupt spatial continuity.
  • The review is written by Andrea Carnevali for Artribune.
  • The show avoids confessional narrative and rhetorical treatment of grief.
  • The exhibition includes a portrait titled 'Ritratto di Piero Martinello'.

Entities

Artists

  • Paola Angelini
  • Osvaldo Licini
  • Giacomo Leopardi
  • Andrea Carnevali

Institutions

  • Artribune

Locations

  • Ascoli Piceno
  • San Benedetto del Tronto
  • Italy

Sources