Illune

Free entry

Illune is the final exhibition in the annual cycle, presented by the Associazione Amici dell'Atelier Calcografico (AAAC) of Novazzano at the Biblioteca Salita dei Frati in Lugano.

The exhibition offers engaging insights into Maria Pina Bentivenga's research. Based in Rome, Bentivenga is an internationally acclaimed painter and engraver. Alongside a selection of prints related to the ʻLuminarieʼ, ʻTorriʼ and ʻEx Votoʼ projects, the Portico is exhibiting the artist's books. Bentivenga's graphic artistry is intertwined with the work of poets she admires, ranging from Dante to modern and contemporary authors.

Maria Pina Bentivenga expresses her passion for graphic design through pure drawing and intaglio engraving. The artist is attracted by the ability that surfaces have to tell the stories of the passage of time and human existence as embedded geological eras. In her work, places are the result of a fusion of nature, the sacred, the profane and devotional practices. In her engravings, she combines a solid knowledge of the intaglio tradition with a desire to experiment, as evidenced by her use of photopolymer. Her profound mastery of techniques and materials translates into authentic expressive freedom, while being attentive to the subtle balance between fullness and emptiness, light and darkness — as evoked by the exhibition's title, ʻIlluneʼ, which is inspired by James Joyce's poem ʻNightpieceʼ.

Notes

• Ouverture : samedi 6 décembre 2025, à 17h30
• Clôture : samedi 31 janvier 2026, à 12h00