Breve storia del resto del mondo

From 3 april to 10 july, at Catania, thanks to the cooperation between Fondazione Puglisi Cosentino and Fondazione Terzo Pilastro – Italia e Mediterraneo, at the seat of Fondazione Puglisi Cosentino will be showed the exhibition Breve storia del resto del mondo (Brief history of the rest of the world), by Pietro Ruffo, conducted by Laura Barreca.

Breve storia del resto del mondo brings together a particular sequence of large-scale works made by the artist from 2005 to the present day.
A visual journey about the universal concept of freedom or liberal principles in the political history of the continents, through the themes of colonization, cultural, social and religious divisions, from which ancient and unresolved conflicts between the peoples of the world come out.

The artist is known for his big maps of nations, on which hand-carved dragonflies represent the idea of ​​freedom. Pietro Ruffo conceives an exhibition that guides the visitor to recognize some “inspirers” of the liberal and constitutional thought: such as the English political scientist Isaiah Berlin, which the artist dedicates in 2010 the series of large portraits “I sei traditori della libertà” (The six betrayers of freedom), showed at Catania.

The exhibition is opened and closed by the work The Colours of Cultural Map (2015) commissioned by Luciano Benetton for Imago Mundi project, a large atlas of the world’s countries and the differences that unite the peoples; and SPADSVII, commissioned by the National Gallery of Modern Art in Rome, a biplane life size made entirely of wood and paper.

Winner of the Premio Cairo and Premio New York at the Italian Academy for Advanced Studies at Columbia University in 2010, Pietro Ruffo is internationally recognized as one of the most interesting Italian artists.