A curation by Raffaella Nobili, Owner and curator at Paraventi Giapponesi - In the selected works, the labyrinth manifests itself as an ambivalent archetype: a space that simultaneously generates rationalizing geometry and disorientation, order and confusion. Originating in ancient Egypt, in the area of Hawara and mentioned by Herodotus, it became a myth in Crete, where Minos imprisoned the Minotaur in an intricate structure, built by Daedalus with rooms and paths from which it was difficult to escape. Only Theseus, thanks to Ariadne's thread, was able to navigate it, ultimately slaying the monster. The myth pervades history, expanding its meaning as an initiatory path.
Some works selected for this occasion recall the purity of rational frameworks, while others evoke suspended, dead-end paths, where time expands infinitely. As in the works of Borges and Eco, the labyrinth becomes a space of both knowledge and perdition, an unsolved enigma and endless quest, celebrated by visual artists such as Escher and, more recently, Richard Serra, demonstrating the symbol's allure and persistence over time.
13 Artworks
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