Sidival Fila's 'La materia svelata' at Palazzo Merulana

Palazzo Merulana in Rome, a former mental health office in the Esquilino district, presents 'Sidival Fila. La materia svelata,' a solo exhibition dedicated to the Brazilian-born Franciscan friar and artist Sidival Fila (born 1962 in Paranà). The show, organized in synergy between Fondazione Elena e Claudio Cerasi and Coopculture, integrates Fila's works into the permanent Cerasi collection. Central to the exhibition is Fila's practice of recovering and renewing antique fabrics, transforming 18th-century canvases through meticulous restoration and stitching with linen threads. Works like 'Vestigia' (2018–19) and 'Metafora Blu cobalto 17' and 'Metafora Bianca 5' feature frayed, dyed textiles in muted whites and deep blues, creating sculptural forms with shadows and chiaroscuro. A stylized cross suspended in a niche serves as a totemic entry point, guiding viewers through small- and large-scale pieces that blend material elegance with poetic vision. The exhibition references the Franciscan concept of 'usus'—a theory of use rather than possession, emphasizing care and redemption—as noted by José Tolentino Mendonça in the show's text. The display highlights Fila's spiritual and philosophical dimension, where art becomes a vehicle for regeneration and metaphorical rebirth.