The Legislative Assembly presents to the public the exhibition Timeless Shapes by Andrea Benetti, a Bolognese artist who, together with curator Elisa Mazzagardi, leads the audience on an ideal bridge between the origins of prehistoric art and the expressive language of contemporary art.
The earliest forms of artistic representation were not created for aesthetic or decorative purposes; their meaning must be sought in the realm of symbolism, in the creation of shapes, paintings, and graffiti aimed at warding off hostile natural forces and influencing events through propitiatory rituals.
Like many protagonists of the avant-garde and contemporary art, Benetti has developed a unique pictorial language, one that embraces the idea of returning to primordial art, using the archetypal elements of cave painting to convey contemporary imagery. Prehistoric painting, molded timelessly into the present, is reduced to simple, immediate, and authentic forms that express their expressive essence and strive to transmit messages in continuity with primitive art.
The exhibition features twelve works that take the viewer on a journey back to the dawn of humanity. Within these paintings, the figures are stylized, accompanied by simple, ancestral, and magical symbols that reinterpret human figures with highly expressive images, imbued with an infectious energy.
This is a path Benetti knows well and continues to explore today, juxtaposing the figurative repertoire of the Paleolithic with contemporary art, in a representation that helps us rediscover our deepest roots and investigate the inner reality of humankind.
The exhibition will be accompanied by insightful texts by Stefano Bonaga, philosopher and professor at the University of Bologna; Corrado Rozzi, an expert in the mysteries of prehistory; Gregorio Rossi, art historian; and the artist himself, who will guide visitors in understanding a timelessly shaped art and revealing the curiosity and imagination that drive his work.
With the hope that this exhibition may strengthen the values of time and knowledge, and enhance the experiences that, from prehistoric painting to the present day, trace the path toward the future.