In Evidenza - Verita Monselles. CARNALE – Monographic Exhibition

From 31 May to 30 August 2026, the Centro per l’arte contemporanea Luigi Pecci in Prato hosts Verita Monselles. CARNALE, an exhibition dedicated to the radical and visionary work of artist and photographer Verita Monselles.

The project — the first exhibition in an Italian contemporary art centre dedicated to the artist — is curated by Alessandra Acocella, Michele Bertolino, and Monica Gallai, with exhibition design by Giuseppe Ricupero. The works on display come from the Archivio Fotografico Toscano, Fondo Verita Monselles.

The exhibition offers a new interpretation of Monselles’ work, bringing together the different dimensions of her artistic production: from experimental photography to fashion, from advertising to video experimentation. Born in Buenos Aires in 1929 and raised in Florence, Monselles developed an original visual language capable of intertwining feminist reflection, the body, desire, and criticism of gender stereotypes.

From her earliest works, the artist intervenes ironically on the symbols of patriarchal and religious tradition, deconstructing their codes and meanings. Mannequins, stuffed animals, cages, devotional objects, and constructed scenographies become tools for questioning roles, conventions, and power dynamics.

The female body lies at the centre of her research: not simply an object of the gaze, but an active and conscious subject, capable of affirming its own identity and desire. Her images — often pop, sensual, and deliberately kitsch — reinterpret the genres of portraiture, the nude, and still life, offering a personal and radical vision of the female condition.

Through a non-chronological itinerary, the exhibition places feminist works of protest alongside fashion photography, theatrical elements, and video experimentation, highlighting both the continuity and the contemporary relevance of Monselles’ artistic research. From iconic works of the 1970s such as Ecce Homo and Paolina Borghese come Venere Contestatrice, to lesser-known experiments such as the video Rosematic, CARNALE reveals the richness of an autonomous artistic path often misunderstood by her contemporaries.

Twenty years after the last solo exhibition dedicated to the artist, the exhibition brings back to public attention an ironic, emotional, and profoundly political voice, capable of confronting feminist concerns through the languages of fashion, advertising, and the collective imagination.

An opportunity to rediscover an artist who was able to question the body, gender identity, and desire, offering a perspective that remains strikingly contemporary even today.

Opening

Saturday 30 May 2026, 6:00–9:00 PM
at the Centro per l’arte contemporanea Luigi Pecci
Viale della Repubblica 277, Prato

Exhibition information

Centro per l’arte contemporanea Luigi Pecci, Viale della Repubblica 277 - Prato
+39 0574 5317
info@centropecci.it