“But in what sense do these two times exist, the past and the future, if the past is no more and the future is not yet? As for the present, if it were always present and did not pass into the past, it would not be time but eternity.”
— Saint Augustine

Like space, time has always been considered a fundamental category in which the human condition is inscribed. This mysterious companion of our journey, with whom we have a conflicting relationship of love and hate, of pleasure and nostalgia, of resignation and awareness, confronts us with the harsh reality of its relentless, unforgiving passage. The passing of years, the succession of life’s phases, and the approach of the end place human beings before a single truth: the inevitable boundary of death. If we cannot fight or defeat it, then it is better to make it our ally in the search for eternity, leaving a tangible trace of our existence. Our soul does not exist, but it resists through what we have created or written—it is reflected in works of art and books, which become the only bridge connecting us to the past.
In the exhibition “B.P. Before Present,” the time we begin to measure is one that, through a contemporary lens, investigates the three cornerstones of Andrea Benetti’s Neorupestrian painting. “Before Present, B.P.” is a chronological scale used in certain scientific disciplines to specify when past events occurred. This dating system, which takes 1950 as its reference point, marks the continuous and incessant transformation of the present.
Dancing between resins and glues, acrylics and pigments, oils and henna, Andrea Benetti’s canvases take shape, offering us the keys to understanding how much of the ancient still lingers in today’s world. First and foremost, there is a clear homage to Rock Art and to those early artists who left traces of their presence by depicting animals and human stories. There, in those places—in caves, on rocks, using rudimentary tools—bison, horses, deer, and bears tell of hunting expeditions and the race for survival.
The artist’s journey gradually expands, paying tribute to the origins of Abstract Painting, which retains an undeciphered symbolism that intrigues and carries the thrill of discovery. All of this allows us to soar endlessly on the wings of time—time that does not end on a canvas but evolves through modern man’s interpretation, drawing from the primal world. It is an ongoing and persistent gaze, now depicting different subjects, replacing an ibex with a golf club or a horse with a sailboat. This is what Benetti sees today, portraying it through his painting.
At the dawn of a new century, now over a decade old, we witness the depiction of solitary men, together yet isolated—a portrayal of existential desolation. Modern humans, masters of many things, rich in objects, yet observing their past with folded arms. A new kind of being, dominated by technology and comfort, seemingly unable to live without them. And so, in this moment—especially in Benetti’s Neorupestrian painting—time serves as a bridge between a past of history and simplicity, of inquiry and discovery, of instinct mixed with intuition, and a present that is already inevitably a future. A future in which we recognize ourselves as bearers of speed and change.
Thus, the symbols of our modernity appear—symbols that give us security, ensuring our acceptance while leading us to lose sight of life’s true essence. These works, which elevate the ephemeral, deconstruct the real relationship between humans and the environment, between material and immaterial, between genius and instinct.
A deep yearning for a return to simplicity makes B.P. Before Present a narrative of reflection, an essential passage, a certainty in an uncertain society—one that must dismantle its own paradigms in order to become truly free.