Renata Boero's Chromograms at Palazzo Buonaccorsi: A Spiritual Journey Through Natural Pigments

Renata Boero (Genoa, 1936) presents her 'Cromogrammi' at Palazzo Buonaccorsi in Macerata. Trained in Turin and Switzerland under Emilio Scanavino, she debuted at the 1959 Rome Quadriennale. In the 1960s, while working as a restorer with Caterina Marcenaro, she began freeing the canvas from the frame to create dynamic spatial dialogues. Her 'Cromogrammi' combine art and science using vegetable pigments like henna, madder, walnut husk, saffron, turmeric, and cochineal. Key works include 'Cromogramma Terra', a large panel showing oxidations and traces of natural energy; the diptych 'Ctò-nio-grafia' (c. 2000); and 'Paesaggio in rosa'. The exhibition features a wall with the handwritten phrase 'Painting as memory, and something else that is', a multilingual poem with words like 'toucher', 'odeur', 'purification', 'rite', 'mémoire', and a quote from Boero: 'Matter – gesture – memory / to capture consciousness / reflecting within our instincts…'. Large tapestries such as 'Cromogramma Giallo' hang on walls and floors, evoking ritual cloaks and time maps. The show is curated by Andrea Carnevali.