by Redazione 16/10/2026
Categories: Contemporary art / Disclaimer
Thirty-eight dresses from the Valentino archive and 26 paintings by Polish artist Ewa Juszkiewicz create a dialogue between two ways of transforming the female figure. Also on display is a previously unseen work inspired by the Maison’s haute couture.
A red dress can serve as the starting point for reinventing a face. This is what happens in *A PORTRAIT in VALENTINO RED*, the painting that Ewa Juszkiewicz (Gdańsk, 1984) created for the exhibition *AURA. Valentino Garavani – Ewa Juszkiewicz, scheduled to take place in Rome at Palazzo Mignanelli from October 18, 2026, to February 21, 2027. The work, unveiled for the first time today, is one of the points of convergence between the two protagonists of the project, which juxtaposes 38 dresses selected from the Valentino archive and 26 paintings by the Polish artist. The exhibition is the third hosted at PM23, the cultural space of the Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti Foundation at Piazza Mignanelli 23, in the heart of Rome.
The Polish artist takes as her starting point a dress from Valentino Garavani’s Fall/Winter 2007–08 Haute Couture collection —recognizable by the House’s iconic red—and transfers its sculptural presence onto the canvas. The fabric is transformed into an elaborate composition, decorated with a palm-leaf motif, which envelops the face to the point of altering its perception. The form simultaneously evokes a rose, a bow, and a growing organic structure: the portrait thus becomes the site of a metamorphosis, in which the dress ceases to be merely an item of clothing and becomes part of the construction of the image.
This comparison stems from two distinct creative paths, united by a focus on the female figure and the possibility of transforming its representation through materials, forms, and ornamentation. In Valentino’s creations, color, fabrics, volumes, and movement combine to enhance the silhouette and presence of the wearer. In Juszkiewicz’s paintings, however, the female face undergoes a transformation that alters its recognizable features: hair, fabrics, flowers, and other organic forms take the place of facial features, challenging the conventions through which painting has constructed the image of women.
AURA focuses precisely on this liminal space, where something familiar remains recognizable yet takes on an unexpected form: the transformation does not necessarily erase the original reference but opens it up to new interpretations. A dress can become a pictorial composition, while a portrait can move away from the conventional representation of the face to explore other formal possibilities.
In the vision of Valentino Garavani, considered one of the most influential couturiers of the 20th century, the female figure is at the center of a creative exploration that makes sensitivity to color, texture, form, and ornamentation one of its defining traits; the garments featured in the exhibition come from the Maison’s archive and offer a glimpse into certain aspects of this creative language through the forms and materials of fashion. Ewa Juszkiewicz’s work, on the other hand, develops through a constant engagement with the history of the European female portrait. The Polish artist draws on a recognizable visual tradition but modifies its constituent elements, replacing faces with configurations of hair, fabrics, flowers, and organic forms. The features of the subjects thus become a field of experimentation in which the historical codes of beauty and femininity can be reworked.
The dialogue between the two artists is therefore not limited to the juxtaposition of clothing and paintings. In both cases, elements belonging to a recognizable repertoire are recombined to produce new images. Fashion works on constructing the silhouette through fabric and ornamentation; painting intervenes on the very structure of the portrait, transforming the face into a composition that retains references to tradition while altering its arrangement. The exhibition invites viewers to interpret these practices as two different ways of renewing our perspective on beauty. The painting created specifically for AURA makes this relationship explicit. *A PORTRAIT in VALENTINO RED* arises from the encounter between a haute couture creation and Juszkiewicz’s painterly language. The red of the dress is not merely a chromatic reference: within the composition, it takes on a physical, almost architectural presence that envelops the face and redefines its contours. The palm-leaf motif, incorporated into the fabric’s design, contributes to the construction of a form that oscillates between ornament and organism.
The artist explained her choice of dress and her connection to the designer’s work as follows: “For the painting I created specifically for this exhibition, I chose a dress in Valentino’s iconic red: its sculptural presence and visual power immediately captured my imagination. I am particularly fascinated by Valentino’s vision of femininity, which strikes a balance between delicacy and strength, centered on a woman with a strong and self-assured presence.”
Giancarlo Giammetti also highlights the relationship between the two disciplines and the role of transformation in the project. “With AURA, we wanted to explore the ability of fashion and art to transform our perspective on beauty,” he says. “Valentino’s creations and Ewa Juszkiewicz’s paintings, through material, color, form, and metamorphosis, invite us to move beyond the familiar to discover new perspectives. It is a vision that has always accompanied my journey with Valentino and that continues to guide the Foundation’s work today: believing in beauty as a force capable of generating culture, imagination, and change.”
The metamorphosis evoked by the title thus concerns both the images themselves and the way we view them. The garments and paintings retain recognizable references but shift them into a different context, where meaning is no longer fixed once and for all. Ornament can become structure, fabric can take on a painterly function, and the face can transform into an organic form. In this exchange, fashion and painting demonstrate how the representation of beauty is also linked to the conventions that define it and to the possibility of altering them.
AURA. Valentino Garavani – Ewa Juszkiewicz is presented under the patronage of Rome’s 1st Municipal District (Roma Centro). The exhibition will be on view at PM23, located at Piazza Mignanelli 23 in Rome, from October 18, 2026, to February 21, 2027, daily from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., closed on Mondays. Tickets are available on the website www.piazzamignanelli23.com and at the exhibition venue’s ticket office.
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| Valentino and Ewa Juszkiewicz: In Rome, the Polish artist reinterprets the fashion house's designs |
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