Romane de Watteville's Milan solo exhibition explores digital melancholy through hyperrealistic paintings

Swiss-French visual artist Romane de Watteville presents her first Italian exhibition at Istituto Svizzero during Milano Art Week 2026. Titled 'I'll miss you when I scroll away,' the show features hyperrealistic paintings that examine emotional states in an increasingly virtual and social media-dominated reality. The works investigate feelings of loss, nostalgia, and disaffection within contemporary hyperconnected daily life. De Watteville's paintings depict opulent remnants of consumer society and social media culture, populated by influencers and digital artifacts. The exhibition references cultural theorist Mark Fisher's 2011 interview with critic Richard Capes discussing depressive hedonia in a world of constant low-intensity stimulation. Fisher described how easy access to pleasure can paradoxically produce depression and eliminate productive boredom. De Watteville's colorful yet melancholic 'end of the party' scenes question the authenticity of emotions within what the article describes as a transparent yet suffocating bubble. The artist stages the ruthless temporality of uninterrupted consumption through still-life arrangements of objects left on tables or fallen to the ground. The exhibition remains on view until July 4, 2026, offering a critical perspective on digital culture's emotional landscape.