At the Baths of Diocletian, Ai Weiwei's Human Comedy, a monumental Murano glass chandelier

The National Roman Museum welcomes Ai Weiwei’s Human Comedy at the Baths of Diocletian from March 25 to April 3, 2022. Formed of more than two thousand pieces of hand-blown and fused glass by master glassmakers from Berengo Studio in Murano, the work is an enormous chandelier more than six meters wide by about nine meters high and weighing four tons. Among the largest sculptures ever made in Murano glass, the Human Comedy will hang from the ceiling of one of the classrooms in the ancient baths.

The result of three years of work, the work is a twisting monument, a cascade of bones, skulls and organs made of black glass. A work that, according to the artist’s intent, “attempts to speak of death to celebrate life.” In fact, it reproduces the contents of a body when freed from the skin, when it is stripped bare and the viscera exposed to human sight. Through his work, Ai Weiwei intends to send a stark message about the transience of life and to invite reflection on the future and strive for something more to remain beyond the bones.

The exhibition is produced and organized by the National Roman Museum and Berengo Studio with the Berengo Foundation, with the collaboration of Galleria Continua.

In conjunction with the event, Turandot with the theatrical direction by the artist himself will also be staged at the Opera House.

Ai Weiwei | Photo © Edward Smith

At the Baths of Diocletian, Ai Weiwei's Human Comedy, a monumental Murano glass chandelier

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.