Wolfgang Laib's Spiritual Journey at Villa Panza

Wolfgang Laib (b. 1950, Metzingen) presents 'Passageway', a solo exhibition at Villa Panza's stables in Varese, Italy, featuring four installations on the theme of travel. The show is part of a four-year program revisiting themes dear to collector Giuseppe Panza, starting with nature and form. Laib, though not in the original collection, crossed paths with Panza's visionary eye. His mystical, ritualistic art blends Western and Eastern influences with minimalism, using rice, beeswax, marble, paper, and brass. The first installation, 'Passageway Inside-Downside' (2011–2012), comprises 52 brass elements on rice piles, evoking boats for a journey beyond time. In the second space, 'Brahmanda' (2016–2022) is a massive black granite organic form referencing the Hindu cosmic egg. 'Crossing the river-for Bodhiharma' (2021–2022) presents seven paper-on-wood boards with verses by Rumi and calligraphic forms. The final site-specific work, 'Untitled 2023', features small rice piles around a beeswax sculpture, creating a dreamlike space for sensory and spiritual perception. Villa Panza continues to host international artists, staying true to Panza's instinctual collecting vision.