contemporary art exhibition with happening
Friday 18 September, h. 19:30
Biblioteca Navarria Crifò, via Naumachia, 18, Catania
FREE ENTRY
Danila Narcisi
The title combines the solemnity of the Latin Fortuna Fortunae with the immediacy of the English I Wish You Well. Fortuna Fortunae juxtaposes two forms of the same word: fortuna, “fortune”, and fortunae, “of fortune” or “to/for fortune”. The ambiguity is intentional: a single ending opens up multiple relationships and leaves the meaning suspended. On one hand, fortune as an external, mutable, and unpredictable force; on the other, the well-wish as an intentional gesture directed toward the other.
The exhibition situates itself in this passage, between fate and constructed possibility, questioning the role that intentions, relationships, and actions can play within the uncertainty of existence. In a contemporary era traversed by aggressive, hasty, or hollow languages, wishing well becomes a stance. I wish you well is neither a ritualistic formula nor a promise of happiness, but an acknowledgment of the other, attentiveness, and an openness to a possibility. Artists from different expressive fields are called upon to freely engage with transformation, reciprocity, care, and the relationship between actions and consequences. Each artwork is housed in a standardised wooden box, from which it unfolds like a contemporary scroll. The box protects and accompanies the work on its journey; the scroll makes visible what was contained within. Safeguarding and revealing become two moments of the same gesture: from possibility to manifestation, from interiority to sharing.
Visual works, music, singing, dance, and performance will dialogue according to a framework open to interaction among artists, curators, performers, and the audience.
The title combines the solemnity of the Latin Fortuna Fortunae with the immediacy of the English I Wish You Well. Fortuna Fortunae juxtaposes two forms of the same word: fortuna, “fortune”, and fortunae, “of fortune” or “to/for fortune”. The ambiguity is intentional: a single ending opens up multiple relationships and leaves the meaning suspended. On one hand, fortune as an external, mutable, and unpredictable force; on the other, the well-wish as an intentional gesture directed toward the other.
The exhibition situates itself in this passage, between fate and constructed possibility, questioning the role that intentions, relationships, and actions can play within the uncertainty of existence. In a contemporary era traversed by aggressive, hasty, or hollow languages, wishing well becomes a stance. I wish you well is neither a ritualistic formula nor a promise of happiness, but an acknowledgment of the other, attentiveness, and an openness to a possibility. Artists from different expressive fields are called upon to freely engage with transformation, reciprocity, care, and the relationship between actions and consequences. Each artwork is housed in a standardised wooden box, from which it unfolds like a contemporary scroll. The box protects and accompanies the work on its journey; the scroll makes visible what was contained within. Safeguarding and revealing become two moments of the same gesture: from possibility to manifestation, from interiority to sharing.
Visual works, music, singing, dance, and performance will dialogue according to a framework open to interaction among artists, curators, performers, and the audience.
Concept and curation: Danila Narcisi
Performing Arts Curation: IterCulture APS
Project collaboration: Eugenio Navarria, Enzo Puca
Visual Artists: Tiziana Candido, Anna Maria D’Amico, Francesco Fiorista, Katia Mauceri, Danila Narcisi, Alfio Pappalardo, Enzo Puca, Enzo Tomasello
Performing Artists: Luigi Benincasa, Chiara Garozzo, Francesco Laurino, Isabella Navarria, Alessandro Pennisi
in collaborazione con:
Born in Catania, after earning a four-year degree from the Academy of Fine Arts, she obtained a Master’s degree in paper conservation from the University of the Arts London, the city where she currently lives and works. Her artistic research, characterised by a rigorous conceptual approach, ranges across various techniques and materials—both traditional and contemporary—with a preference for paper and a pronounced sensitivity toward materials of natural origin. For several years, she has paired her artistic practice with curatorial work, conceiving and organising group exhibitions built around themes capable of engaging both artists and the public, characterised by a particular focus on an inclusive and participatory dimension. She oversees the entire curatorial process, from defining the theme and concept to selecting and dialoguing with the artists, through to the exhibition design and installation.
Born in Catania, after earning a four-year degree from the Academy of Fine Arts, she obtained a Master’s degree in paper conservation from the University of the Arts London, the city where she currently lives and works. Her artistic research, characterised by a rigorous conceptual approach, ranges across various techniques and materials—both traditional and contemporary—with a preference for paper and a pronounced sensitivity toward materials of natural origin. For several years, she has paired her artistic practice with curatorial work, conceiving and organising group exhibitions built around themes capable of engaging both artists and the public, characterised by a particular focus on an inclusive and participatory dimension. She oversees the entire curatorial process, from defining the theme and concept to selecting and dialoguing with the artists, through to the exhibition design and installation.