may 25, 2023 - Arthemisia

Starting 26 May, Palazzo Bonaparte in Rome will be hosting for the first time an exhibition dedicated to hyperrealistic sculpture, exhibiting 43 mega-installations by the greatest contemporary artists.
The sculptures are so impressive, and the details so realistic down to the minutest particulars, that it is hard to distinguish a real body from an artwork.

The artists on display, 29 in total, are leading stars on the international scene: from Maurizio Cattelan (present with such iconic works as the pigeons in his Ghosts installation or his famous banana, properly titled Comedian) to Ron Mueck, who is showing a gigantic man’s head with Dark Place, joined by George Segal, Carole Feuerman, Duane Hanson, and a host of others.

An exhibition. that provokes, that raises questions. A show that brings together the artists who have caused more debate than anyone else: what is it that allows hyperrealistic sculptures to short-circuit the viewers’ minds? We know the works are not real, and yet the skin, hair, beards and fingers suggest otherwise. The nude bodies scandalize us; the eyes hypnotize us; and the dimensions – sometimes in perfect scale and sometimes false – confuse us: It looks alive, but is it really?

Further information in the press release to download