On Love
Wed/Fri: 14:00-18:00
Thu: 14:00-20:00
Sat/Sun: 11:00-18:00
Wed/Fri: 14:00-18:00
Thu: 14:00-20:00
Sat/Sun: 11:00-18:00
ON LOVE
A group show with Sabian Baumann, Zheng Bo, Leda Bourgogne, Giulia Crispiani, Soñ Gweha, Jeanne Jacob, Marta Margnetti, Tomás Paula Marques
The group exhibition On Love brings together eight artists from different generations to explore the concept of love. Through a variety of mediums, Sabian Baumann, Zheng Bo, Leda Bourgogne, Giulia Crispiani, Soñ Gweha, Jeanne Jacob, Marta Margnetti and Tomás Paula Marques reflect on love not only as a feeling but as a gesture that can nurture actions of political nature. The show draws from conversations, reflections, and readings from recent years, including the writings of authors and thinkers such as bell hooks, Ursula K. Le Guin or Donna Haraway, with the aim to share ideas about the complex nature of love, recognizing its myriad forms that extend beyond the traditional view of heterosexual romantic relationships. How can we narrate the love story differently? What new worlds can we create? Through these questions, the show emphasises that love is not only a personal experience but has deep and relevant social and political implications.
The views and opinions expressed in this exhibition are those of the artists and authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Istituto Svizzero or of any entities it represents.
Download the curatorial text and floorplan here
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Istituto Svizzero
Via Ludovisi 48, Rome
Free entry, no registration required
Opening hours:
Wednesday/Friday: 14:00-18:00
Thursday: 14:00-20:00
Saturday/Sunday: 11:00-18:00
For press inquires, please contact press@istitutosvizzero.it
Biographies
Sabian Baumann (1962, Zug) studied visual arts at the University of the Arts in Zurich. Sabian’s artistic corpus, centered on concepts of the body, identity and cultural values, embraces a wide range of artistic mediums, but finds its main focus in sculpture and drawing. Sabian has exhibited in Switzerland and abroad, initiated collaborative and transdisciplinary projects with a queer and intersectional-feminist approach, including two documentary films. Sabian Baumann is represented by Galerie Mark Müller, Zürich.
Zheng Bo (1974, Beijing) is an ecoqueer artist of ethnic Bai heritage. Through drawing, dance, and film, they cultivate kinship with plants: ferns in Taiwan, moss in Scandinavia, beech trees in Germany, and an umbrella thorn acacia in the Arabian Desert. Guided by Daoist wisdom, Zheng Bo work with both human and nonhuman dancers to grow weedy gardens, biophilia films, and ecosocialist gatherings. For them, art does not arise from human creativity, but more-than-human intimacy, contributing to an emergent planetary indigeneity through their ecological practice. Recent exhibitions include institutional solos at Gropius Bau (Berlin) and Göteborgs Konsthall (Gothenburg), public commissions at Jameel Arts Centre (Dubai) and Rockbund Art Museum (Shanghai), and participation in the 59th Venice Biennale. Their works are in the collections of Tate (London), Power Station of Art (Shanghai), Hong Kong Museum of Art, Singapore Art Museum, and Hammer Museum (Los Angeles).
Leda Bourgogne (1989, Vienna) lives and works in Berlin. She began her academic journey by attending Studies of German and Film Science, University of Zurich. She then pursued a Master’s degree in Free Fine Arts in Frankfurt/Main. Her works include object-like imagery as well as poetry, performance, drawing, sculpture and installation and find their starting point in an interest in psychoanalysis, philosophy, literature, film and feminist discourses. Leda Bourgogne participated in exhibitions at Westfälischer Kunstverein in Müenster, Kunstverein Brunswick, MMK Museum für Moderne Kunst Frankfurt/Main., Kunsthalle Bremerhaven and the Helmhaus in Zurich among others.
Giulia Crispiani (1986, Ancona) is a writer and visual artist based in Rome.
Her research starts from a vision of the human being as a politicized individual and from the theme of the artist’s responsibility within society. She uses the practice of fictioning as a pretext to address political issues, questioning gender and social stereotypes. Giulia’s work has been shown in numerous exhibitions, including the Bulegoa in Bilbao; MAXXI Roma and MAXXI L’Aquila; Roma Europa Festival; Center for Book Arts in New York; Almanac Inn in Torino; Centrale Fies in Dro; Short Theatre in Roma; MACRO in Roma; Quadriennale di Roma 2020; Il Colorificio in Milan; and FramerFramed in Amsterdam. She is the author of the books « Incontri in luoghi straordinari / Meetings at remarkable places » (Nero Editions 2020), « What if Every Farewell Would Be Followed by a Love Letter » (Union Editions 2020), « What if I can’t say goodbye » (Union Editions 2021), « Petra« (Rerun books 2018), and co-author of « غم/Tristezza/Sorrow » (with Golrokh Nafisi, Oreri 2021) and « Albe e Tramonti di Praiano* » (with Michele Bertolino, Oreri 2022).
Soñ Gweha (1989, Pontoise) is an artist, researcher and community organizer, currently conducting their PhD in Practice in the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, and Cameroon. Through a transdisciplinary practice, Soñ Gweha works with poetry, video, performance, installation, sculpture to deconstruct the mechanisms of survival, mindfulness and healing. Soñ’s first solo exhibition « A Quiet Storm Blowin » was presented in Vienna in 2023 at the Kunstraum Niederoesterreich. Soñ Gweha’s works, DJ sets and performances have been presented at the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, Ohio (2024), Palais de Tokyo in Paris, and « Sarah Maldoror, Tricontinental Cinema » at Galeria Municipais de Portugal (2021-22), « Sex Ecologies » at Norway’s Kunsthall Trondheim, (2021), amongst many others. Soñ Gweha also contributed to the “Afrocyberféminismes” project at the Gaîté Lyrique in Paris in 2018, co-created by Oulimata Gueye. The artist worked with the Swiss collective KitchenSProsper since 2021 and with Atayé magazine which they co-founded in 2016 in Paris.
Jeanne Jacob (1994, Neuchâtel) lives and works in Biel/Bienne.
Her artistic practice involves various media, including painting, performance, text, and drawing. Her work stems from feminist queer reading and contemporary sociology. In her artistic practice, Jeanne Jacob delicately navigates themes with a blend of tenderness and irony, conveying a profound longing for radical transformation. She also frequently collaborates with other artists, integrating different perspectives and stimulating creative dialogues that further enrich her work. Jeanne’s recent exhibitions include: “Hors de la nuit des normes, hors de l’énorme ennui”, Palais de Tokyo, in Paris; “Destinée”, galerie Air de Paris, in Romainville; « 10+10+1 » Kunstmuseum Interlaken.
Marta Margnetti (1989, Camorino) is an artist currently residing and working in Lugano. She graduated in Visual Arts from HEAD – Genève in 2012 and obtained a Master’s in Contemporary Art Practice from Bern Academy of the Arts in 2016. In 2013, she co-founded and co-directed the art space Sonnenstube Lugano for five years. In 2017, she was awarded the Kiefer Hablitzel Prize. From 2018 to 2020, she served as co-director at the independent cultural center Morel in Lugano. In 2020, she received the Manor Ticino Prize, while in 2021, she co-founded the duo Fattucchiere with curator Giada Olivotto. In 2023, she was a finalist for the Swiss Art Awards and contributed to the establishment of the cultural production space Fervida. Her works are exhibited at the Kunsthalle St. Gallen in the solo exhibition titled « Serenata » until May 12, 2024.
Marta Margnetti’s work displayed in the exhibition was supported by Fondazione Ferdinando e Laura Pica Alfieri
Tomás Paula Marques (she/they, 1994, Porto) holds a degree in Directing from ESTC, Lisbon, a postgraduate qualification in Sociology from ISCTE, Lisbon, and a Master’s in Filmmaking from EQZE, San Sebastián, has helmed the productions “IN CASE OF FIRE” (2019),“Blindman’s Buff” (2021),“When We Dead Awaken” (2022), and “Dildotectonics” (2023). Her films delve into the struggles of characters as they navigate societal expectations and norms regarding gender and sexuality; her research is fueled by both her personal experiences and in-depth historical and sociological research, enriching her creative process.