Scandagli e Nuove Emersioni

Spazio Thetis in the ancient Arsenale of Venice is hosting SCANDAGLI e NUOVE EMERSIONI, the new solo exhibition by Massimiliana SONEGO until July 31st. This exhibition project gathers the most recent works of the Venetian artist and presents itself as an immersion into her painterly universe, between introspection and visual tension, memory and language.

Spazio Thetis has warmly welcomed Massimiliana's project. Her poetics are unique and almost singular in the contemporary landscape. We are struck by her absolute freedom in the use of color, and as always, we take pleasure in embracing differences and dissonances. Spazio Thetis aims to be a space that welcomes and contributes to thought, precisely through openness to different expressive modes.

Sonego explores the profound relationship between objects and imagination, choosing as protagonists objects of affection, such as vases, chairs, and common items, which, released from their functional use, become true symbols of personal and collective memory, tools for reflection, threshold-figures that open up to new visions and meanings. Transfigured through bold signs, geometric syntheses, and vibrant colors, these elements layer on the canvas, generating a visual narrative rich in emotional resonance. Alongside painting—be it oil or acrylic on small or large surfaces—she also engages in printmaking, particularly with intaglio techniques like etching and aquatint. “The imagination and tension that emerge from their presence,” the artist explains, “lead me, through different paths, to probe reality into the recesses of the mind. [...] The object, which increasingly becomes a communicative symbol to my eyes, allows me to see the invisible and shape my thoughts in a mirror-like way.”

In an era that seems to exalt the ephemeral, Massimiliana Sonego consistently affirms the value of art and painting, cultivating a personal vision fueled by depth and listening. As curator Stefano Cecchetto writes, “Scandagli e Nuove Emersioni suggests the sense of research akin to the dynamics of diving into deep waters where one continuously swims non-stop to explore the unknown [...] It is precisely in that instant emergence, in that fleeting breath, that one still captures the sound, the tumult and immense vitality of Massimiliana Sonego's inexhaustible painterly universe.”

The artist's works are arranged on the surface like floating object-forms caught in a time of transition, stripped of their functional value and recharged with poetic and symbolic power. As critic Giovanni Bianchi points out, “Objects give life to a place of transition through which their relationship becomes an opportunity to document change. [...] Finding a new mnemonic use, they are reinterpreted through sign and color, acquiring in this process a new consistency that suggests a sensation of lightness.”

Sonego’s painting, recognizable for its confident and fragmented line, is fueled by an energy that blends rigor and vibration, geometry and dynamism. As noted by Lorena Gava, “She has accustomed us to a fractured, broken, prismatic vision of objects that appear sectioned and catapulted into a perceptual vortex. [...] We remain fascinated by the light, the magic of the creations, the incessant combinations and associations, the inexhaustibility of imaginative projections.”

SCANDAGLI e NUOVE EMERSIONI thus presents itself as a journey, an exploration through layers of memory and visual fragments, where each canvas is a challenge to interpretation and an invitation to be swept away by the vital motion of art.
Web: www.cristinagatti.it/portfo...