Monsters in Trent: an exhibition on the fascination of the monstrous among contemporary art, history and anthropology

The term “monster” evokes deep, often contradictory emotions and images: fear, attraction to the unknown, horror, but also reflection on the deformities of society and human interiority. These suggestions are at the heart of MONSTRA. A Prodigious Exhibition, an exhibition project promoted by the Alchemica APS association and curated by Camilla Nacci Zanetti, which can be visited until June 8, 2025 at the Piedicastello Galleries in Trento.

The exhibition offers a complex exploration of the concept of “monstrous” through different artistic languages, from painting to sculpture, from video to installation and performance. The term “monster” is not here reduced to a mere synonym of fear or horror, but becomes a key to the collective and individual imagination, reflecting on themes ranging from politics to society, from science to popular tradition.

A distinctive element of the project is its multidisciplinary approach. Alongside the works of the 26 selected contemporary artists (David Aaron Angeli, Tommaso Buldini, Chiara Calore, Anna De los Reyes, Fulvio Di Piazza, Francesco Diluca, Bruno Fantelli, Agata Ferrari Bravo, Gelitin, Andrew Gilbert, Naomi Gilon, Silvia Governa, Valentyna Kuzmyk, Federico Lanaro, Mad Meg, Angelo Maisto, Laurina Paperina, Denis Riva, Dora Poi, Dionysis Saraij, Virginia Sartori, Sylvie Selig, Solomostry, Julia Switaj, Flaminia Veronesi, Pietro Weber), MONSTRA integrates historical and scientific materials through prestigious collaborations with local institutions . With the Trentino Historical Museum Foundation, archival research has been undertaken on the “monsters of the twentieth century,” or the horrors of propaganda, war, colonialism and social inequality. These themes are presented in the exhibition through documents and historical accounts, offering an important counterpoint to the imaginative and artistic dimension.

In addition, thanks to loans from MuSe - Trento’s Museum of Science - visitors can confront some mirabilia from the world of science and pseudoscience, objects and curiosities that show how even science has sometimes contributed to the construction of the monstrous imagination. Rounding out the exhibition landscape is the collaboration with METS - Museo Etnografico Trentino San Michele all’Adige, which has provided traditional carnival masks, allowing for an immersion in local cultural anthropology and rituals related to the “monster” as an element of folk tradition.

This multiplicity of gazes allows for the weaving of a complex plot in which seemingly distant worlds meet and are reflected in each other. The theme of the monster thus becomes a prism through which to read our relationship with otherness, the different, the unknown. The task of the 26 artists involved is to reknit the threads of this fragmented narrative and propose new visions. Their works invite us to overcome stereotypes and prejudices, bringing to light surprising hybridizations, new chimeras, apocalyptic landscapes and representations of the “inner monster,” the one everyone hides behind the everyday mask.

The exhibition itinerary is designed to be fluid, open to free associations, without rigid thematic scanning. The layout will guide the visitor through an experience of discovery, in which the imagination can move without predetermined boundaries. This approach reflects the very nature of the monster, a figure that is by definition elusive, changeable and difficult to pigeonhole.

MONSTRA. A Prodigious Exhibition is made possible thanks to the support of the Fondazione Caritro and is part of the larger cultural program of the Gallerie di Piedicastello, one of the main exhibition hubs in the city of Trento. The Galleries will be open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with weekly closing on Mondays. During holidays, opening will be guaranteed, unless otherwise indicated, which can always be found on the official website https://legallerietrento.it. Also enriching the MONSTRA experience is a publication dedicated to the exhibition, currently being produced through a crowdfunding campaign on the Produzioni dal Basso platform. The editorial project, available at the link https://sostieni.link/36902, will provide an in-depth look at the content and thematic paths proposed by the exhibition.

Not only that: after the Trentino closure, the exhibition will have a second life. In fact, a summer remount is planned from July 10 to August 31, 2025 at the former Carmine Church in Brescia, home of theCARME Association, a partner in the project. This new stage will provide an opportunity to renew the dialogue between works and exhibition space, allowing a wider audience to engage with the world of monsters and wonders.

For more information, to see the calendar of side events and to stay up-to-date on news related to MONSTRA, you can visit the dedicated page on the Alchemica APS website https://www.associazionealchemica.com/monstra or follow the exhibition’s official Instagram profile @monstra_unamostraprodigiosa.

Monsters in Trent: an exhibition on the fascination of the monstrous among contemporary art, history and anthropology

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