Nel Segno

The moments of human time remain imprinted in the memory of art, and art on paper becomes the vehicle of this memory, transmitting it from generation to generation. From Paleolithic cave paintings to contemporary digital art, humanity has never ceased to record its own existence, just as described by Plato in The Republic with the concept of the "wall of images": our history is continuously written, painted, and reinterpreted. The French philosopher Paul Ricoeur, in his Memory, History, Forgetting, argues that memory is not only a reproduction of the past but a cultural construction. Art perfectly represents this construction: it not only documents history but also becomes a privileged window for understanding it.

The exhibition “Nel Segno: Works on Paper from the 17th to the 21st Century” brings us back to the most authentic state of art, that is, artistic expression through the traditional paper medium. As the German philosopher Walter Benjamin emphasized in The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, the uniqueness of art (Aura) is often determined by the medium that hosts it. Paper (a fundamental support for drawing), calligraphy, and printing have played an irreplaceable role in the history of human civilization. The invention of paper—one of the four great inventions of antiquity—was not only a means of transmitting knowledge but also a tool for preserving cultural memory, allowing traces of the past to cross centuries.

The exhibition “Nel Segno” draws the public’s attention to 34 artists from different countries and creative contexts, including historical figures such as Agostino Carracci, Alessandro Allori, and Pablo Picasso. From the refined sketches of the 17th century to the abstract explorations of the 21st, the exhibited works range from figurative to abstract, from realism to expressionism, from human portraits to urban landscapes. These works are like silent epics, witnesses of the evolution of human artistic thought. Retracing the history of Western art, Renaissance artists such as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo left countless sketches on paper, laying the foundations of their creativity, while in the 19th century, Impressionists like Edgar Degas used paper to capture the beauty of everyday moments.

As Friedrich Nietzsche stated in On the Use and Abuse of History for Life, history must not simply be preserved but constantly reinterpreted to stimulate creativity. The works in this exhibition are not only signs of the past but also contemporary artists' responses to tradition. The lines, colors, and textures left on paper by the 34 exhibited artists are like imprints of ever-evolving civilization, symbols of progress and innovation.

However, in the Era of Artificial Intelligence, paper supports are slowly disappearing from our daily lives, replaced by digital screens. Even methods of artistic production are changing. Benjamin had already foreseen that technical reproducibility would transform the nature of art, and today digital art could make works on paper a "vanishing trace." It is precisely in this context that we should appreciate art on paper even more, not only as a creative expression but also as a material testimony of our time.

“Nel Segno” is not only the sign left on a sheet but also our way of looking at the past through art, understanding the present, and imagining the future.