Chiara Dynys explores memory and imagery in Private Atlas from BUILDINGBOX

A year-long exhibition project, from January 15, 2025 to January 6, 2026, celebrates 35 years of Chiara Dynys ’ (Mantua, 1958) artistic research. The project, entitled Private Atlas, curated by Alessandro Castiglioni and hosted by BUILDINGBOX in Milan, aims to offer an unprecedented and poetic reading of the artist’s work.

Moreover, this is the first time BUILDINGBOX has dedicated an annual monographic exhibition to a single artist. Private Atlas unfolds in twelve exhibition episodes, each designed specifically for the space at 23 Monte di Pietà Street. With an anthological approach, the exhibition spans Dynys’ entire career, revealing previously unseen aspects of her poetics and artistic language.

A private atlas between memory, thresholds and imaginaries

Private Atlas is conceived as an emotional atlas collecting historical works and new productions divided into three thematic chapters. The structure allows visitors to explore the central themes of Dynys’ art through a series of site-specific installations that are renewed monthly. Alessandro Castiglioni, curator of the exhibition, describes the project as “a historical and emotional geography of Chiara Dynys’ work.” In this journey, the concept of an atlas is transformed into a kaleidoscope, where works intertwine and overlap to offer a unique critical and historical view.

From January to April 2025, the first chapter(The Dissemination of Memory) analyzes the relationship between spatial fragmentation and cultural identity. Selected works recount a profound research on the forms of Western culture, transforming them into elements of dialogue with the self and collective memory. The second chapter(Crossings), from May to August 2025, addresses the theme of the threshold, central to Dynys’ poetics. The threshold, interpreted in both its physical and symbolic dimensions, explores the concepts of limit, space and materiality, inviting the audience to reflect on the passage between places and states. The third chapter(Journey to Italy), from September 2025 to January 2026, pays homage to the Italian artistic and cultural tradition, evoking the title of Roberto Rossellini’s famous film. Here, Dynys interweaves references to the ancient and classical with elements of popular and vernacular culture, in a dialogue that mixes filmic imagery and collective memories.

A year-long critical reading

The entire project unfolds as a narrative continuum, an annual cycle that juxtaposes works and imagery, revealing the complexity of Chiara Dynys’ artistic language. The installations, conceived especially for BUILDINGBOX, translate the artist’s poetics into an intimate yet universal spatial dimension.

The kaleidoscope, a symbol dear to Dynys, represents the visual archetype of this path. As Castiglioni points out, the alternation of images and themes creates a circularity that returns a complete and innovative vision of his artistic production.

For all information, you can visit the official BUILDINGBOX website.

Chiara Dynys explores memory and imagery in Private Atlas from BUILDINGBOX

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