Pieta Occulta 2018

Curator: Roberto Ferri's oil painting, "Pietà Occulta," completed in 2018, presents a compelling study in contrasts. The initial feeling it gives is... intense, and almost violent, despite the delicate rendering. Editor: Violent is certainly one word! The dramatically dark palette coupled with that incredibly firm, almost crushing grip immediately sets the tone. This is far removed from the Renaissance's airy grace. Instead, the iconographic theme of the Pietà has undergone a distinctly modern transformation, but the nude clearly lacks the modesty, typical of traditional religious representations. The contrast is jarring. Curator: Exactly. The composition itself is a careful exercise. Look at how the artist forces our gaze upwards along the twisting spine, using light to accentuate the contours of her form. It is not quite a spiral but almost mimics one. We also can't overlook how the supporting form obscures itself in a muted monochrome, making it a compositional counterweight. Editor: A visual weight and an allegorical one! Consider how deeply the image engages with our history of representing grief, power, and sexuality. The positioning certainly evokes Christian iconography and art history with figures like Michelangelo, as the title makes clear. But the symbolism, in this case, suggests hidden, "occult" grief—and, perhaps, a repressed desire? The androgynous features are particularly telling. Curator: The blurring of gender lines destabilizes any straightforward reading. Yet it seems crucial to how the form reflects—and refracts—historical works from art history to produce a feeling that’s sensual and tragic at once. The artist masterfully employs chiaroscuro here to sculpt form and generate the emotion to a near unsettling degree, creating these striking light contrasts on the pallid body. Editor: Indeed, consider how often we encounter power dynamics embedded in our cultural narratives. By invoking the Pietà motif but complicating the symbolism, Ferri offers a new way to explore themes of victimization and dominance in society. What is she grieving? Whose grasp imprisons her? It creates endless cycles of interpretations. Curator: Ultimately, this oil painting stands as an unsettling demonstration of the artist's ability to challenge traditional themes. The meticulous brushwork combined with bold color juxtapositions serves as a technical highpoint—one with lingering effects that persist in the viewer’s consciousness long after viewing. Editor: I leave contemplating just how persistent some cultural ideas remain. How the language of images can subtly shift across time while fundamental patterns, of power or representation, are perpetuated in both the visual and cultural sphere.