THIS IS THE END

That life is not owned but borrowed is difficult to accept, as evident in the painful experience of mourning the dearly departed. Contemporary society has the tendency to hush discussions of mortality, leaving many of us at a loss when confronted with its inevitability. Death, the fate of us all, remains an impenetrable mystery.
Far from being a spectacular vision of necrophilia or decadence, THIS IS THE END offers a selection of tempered artistic explorations that deal with our finiteness. There is a clear reference to the ancient role of art in man’s understanding of death, which is additionally supplemented by rational, objective assessment in the conceiving of the exhibition. By harnessing the poetic potentials of death, a few of the artists also proffer temporary solutions of coping to those who are living.
The twelve perspectives are humbling reminders of our short lease on life, commenting on its irreversibility and fleetingness, the fragility of existence, and the value of creating against all odds. Between the brittle expanses of white plaster in one work and the slow viscosity of black magma in another, there exists a common thread of minimal gesture: ephemeral, unmonumental, and delicate, strong despite their transience. Paradoxically, a lot like how life should be.
curated by Francesco Cardarelli, Guia Del Favero and Massimo Palazzi
text by: Sunshine Wong