Nella Nebbia 2016

Editor: Right, next up we have Roberto Ferri's oil painting, "Nella Nebbia" from 2016. The figure's pose, and those thorns – it feels intensely vulnerable, almost claustrophobic. How do you interpret this piece? Curator: It resonates, doesn’t it? A raw exposure – the vulnerability you sensed. Notice how the figure curls inward, seemingly attempting to shield themselves, both with their arms and their posture. That bell jar – or maybe it’s a bubble – heightens that sense of isolation. Makes me wonder what that boundary really is. Editor: Is it a barrier protecting her, or a prison trapping her? Curator: Maybe it’s both, which is what I find so compelling! Those sharp branches – almost a crown, no? Symbolism like that is classic in art history. What does it evoke for you? Editor: Pain, obviously. And constraint. But I'm wondering, who put her there? Curator: Aha! Good question. What do you think? Is it a self-imposed exile, or an external force at play? Think about the historical influences Ferri draws from – Mannerism, Realism... Those traditions play with drama and the human form in powerful ways. Editor: It could be either. The drama and that light makes it theatrical. Maybe it’s a stage. Curator: A stage for what? Maybe it’s a modern echo of classic stories, tales where people confront something, they need to isolate, to confront something difficult, to overcome it, emerge anew on the other side of a cathartic, but challenging transformation, just like a bud becoming a bloom! It definitely opens the door for contemplation, right? Editor: Absolutely. It's definitely more complex than I initially thought! Curator: It’s funny, you see a stage; I saw a chrysalis before. Beautiful ambiguity. Art does that; shows you parts of your inner landscape. Thanks for seeing it with me!