Monica Bonvicini transforms the church of San Carlo in Cremona with her "And Rose"

The deconsecrated church of San Carlo in Cremona will host And Rose, a new solo exhibition by Monica Bonvicini (Venice, 1965), from Oct. 5 to Dec. 14, 2024. The Venetian artist, one of the most important figures on the contemporary art scene, uses the church’s austere setting to explore the intersections between art, architecture and power dynamics, central themes of her artistic practice.

The exhibition, organized inside the 17th-century structure at 33 Via Bissolati, features monumental sculptures from the Chainswings series, which dominate the church’s nave. Made of galvanized steel, the sculptures are characterized by their oscillation between evocations of play and submission, offering a reflection on industrial aesthetics and social tensions.

Bonvicini’s choice to place these installations in a deconsecrated church is intended to offer a reflection on the reappropriation of public spaces and the nature of participation in art. With And Rose, Bonvicini wants to invite visitors to physically interact with the works, a choice that aims to break the barrier between viewer and work. The Chainswings series, designed to hang from the ceiling and move through space, allows the audience to interact with the installation, in turn making them an active part of the artistic creation.

In this exhibition, interaction is not seen as a mere addition: it is an integral part of the work, an element that reflects the complex power dynamics that the artist intends to represent. This performative aspect is one of the distinctive features of Bonvicini’s practice, which sees direct experience as a form of artistic expression capable of generating new readings and interpretations. The swinging of the chains, a symbol of a freedom suspended between autonomy and control, represents a metaphor for those power dynamics that the artist investigates.

An exhibition that addresses themes of feminism and social critique

And Rose embodies the heart of Bonvicini’s research, which has always found feminism and the critique of power structures to be the main focuses of her artistic production. In proposing her sculptures as performative elements, the artist not only amplifies the reflection on the role of the body and individual freedom, but also induces the audience to question the persistence of certain cultural and social hierarchies. The deconsecrated church, in this context, becomes an eloquent symbol of the overlap between the sacred and the profane, the institutional and the subversive, key elements of Bonvicini’s poetics.

The exhibition And Rose thus explores themes such as the role of women and socio-cultural constructions, inviting the visitor to reflect on the legacy and relevance of these issues. Through an aesthetic language that mixes the industrial with the performative, Bonvicini creates an exhibition path that invites active and critical participation. The public, therefore, does not merely observe, but becomes part of the discourse and message that the artist wishes to convey.

Who is Monica Bonvicini

Monica Bonvicini was born in Venice in 1965 and studied at the Universität der Künste in Berlin and the California Institute of the Arts in Los Angeles. Her international training and artistic career, which spans Europe and the United States, have led her to exhibit her work in world-renowned museums, including MoMA PS1 in New York, Kunstmuseum Basel, MAXXI in Rome, and Palais de Tokyo in Paris. He has also participated in major international biennials, from Venice to Berlin via Istanbul and Shanghai.

His works have been presented in numerous major biennials, including Busan (2020), Venice (2015, 2011, 2005, 2001), Berlin (2014, 2004, 1998), Istanbul (2017, 2003), New Orleans (2008), Gwangju (2006), Shanghai (2002), and Santa Fe (1999). They have also been exhibited in major museums around the world, such as MAXXI, Rome (2024, 2018), Kunsthaus Zurich (2023), Deichtorhallen, Hamburg (2023, 2019, 2017, 2012, 2010), Nationalgalerie, Berlin (2022), Kunst Museum Winterthur (2022), Art Sonje Center, Seoul (2022), Castello di Rivoli, Turin (2021, 2005), Belvedere 21, Vienna (2019), National Gallery of Denmark, Copenhagen (2019), BALTIC Center for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, Newcastle (2016), Kunsthalle Fridericianum, Kassel (2011), Art Institute of Chicago (2009), MoMA PS1, New York (2009), Kunstmuseum Basel (2009), Sculpture Center, New York (2007), Secession, Vienna (2003), Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2002). Bonvicini has received several awards, including the Oskar Kokoschka Prize, Austria (2020), the Rolandpreis für Kunst in Public Space from the Bremen Foundation, Germany (2013), the Preis der Nationalgalerie für junge Kunst, from the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (2005), and the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale (1999).

Some of her public works are permanently installed at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London, on the Bjørvika waterfront, in front of the Den Norske opera & Ballet House in Oslo, and at the Weserburg Museum of Modern Art in Bremen. Monica Bonvicini studied art at the Universität der Künste in Berlin and at the California Institute of the Arts in Los Angeles. As a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, Bonvicini led the Performing Arts and Sculpture courses from 2003 to 2017. In October 2017, she assumed the chair of Sculpture at the Universität der Künste in Berlin. Monica Bonvicini lives and works in Berlin.

Monica Bonvicini transforms the church of San Carlo in Cremona with her "And Rose"

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