The exhibition by Elena Franco (Turin, 1973) explores the Imagines Pietatis preserved in the Historical Archive of the Monte di Pietà of Bologna, held at the Fondazione del Monte di Bologna e Ravenna.

Imago Pietatis is an artistic reinterpretation of this archive, which contains over one hundred volumes, each bearing an image of Christ in pity painted on the upper edge.

Franco reworks these images, creating new ones and addressing themes such as solidarity, care and the human condition through a variety of media. Photography remains the common thread throughout the project, although the results move beyond traditional photographic practice: the works take the form of posters, scanner-based images — sometimes manually altered — and digital reproductions printed on fabric.

The project culminates in the creation of an artist’s book of over 800 pages, produced in only three copies.

Avvenire – Bologna 15 maggio 2020
Il Resto del Carlino – Bologna 2 giugno 2020
Artificialis.eu – febbraio 2020
Artificialis.eu – aprile 2020

Elena Franco
Imago Pietatis
Curated by Jacopo Cenacchi

22 January > 14 March
Following the interruption due to COVID-19, the exhibition was extended until Saturday 4 July.

GALLERIA STUDIO CENACCHI
Via Santo Stefano 63
40125 Bologna

OPENING HOURS
Monday–Friday: 9 am–1 pm and 3–6 pm
Saturday and Sunday: closed