Quando le statue sognano: ancient and contemporary art at Museo Salinas in Palermo

The exhibition 'Quando le statue sognano. Frammenti da un museo in transito' at the Museo Archeologico Salinas in Palermo presents a Gesamtkunstwerk that merges ancient and contemporary art. Curated by museum director Caterina Greco and art critic Helga Marsala, the show is divided into two chapters and features works from the museum's deposits, temporarily awakened before their permanent installation. The exhibition space, the former monastery of the Padri Filippini, becomes a protagonist alongside ancient pieces from Bourbon-era donations and contemporary works by Alessandro Roma, 108/Guido Bisagni, and Fabio Sandri. The communication campaign by Mimmo Rubino (Rub Kandy) integrates into the total artwork. The exhibition opens with photographs by Ferdinando Scianna from March 1984, showing a blind Jorge Luis Borges visiting the museum with his wife Maria Kodama. The first-floor wing, used as offices since the 1970s and recently restored, is transformed into a Wunderkammer exploring themes of Man, Nature, and the Sacred. Soundscapes by 108/Guido Bisagni accompany the journey, while Sandri's photographic prints capture sculptures from the deposits. Votive heads from Cales are displayed for the first time, framed by Alessandro Roma's tapestries and ceramics. The exhibition culminates in the room of the Menade Farnese, with a mosaic floor from the 2nd-3rd century AD and a 17th-century wooden ceiling, featuring Roma's sculptures and a sound track by 108 based on Orphic Hymns.