"Giulio Paolini and Luca Bertolo. Behind the Work": From March 8 to May 10, the Italian Cultural Institute in Madrid will host an exhibition dedicated to the two Italian artists, curated by Elena Volpato and organized under the aegis of the Italian Embassy in Spain, in collaboration with GAM – Galleria Civica d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Torino and Fondazione Torino Musei.

The exhibition unfolds as a duet in counterpoint. Giulio Paolini (Genoa, 1940) and Luca Bertolo (Milan, 1968) have distinct voices: Paolini’s is crystalline and precise, while Bertolo’s is more textured and dynamic. Since the 1960s, Paolini has explored the enigmatic essence of art, painting, and imagery, while Bertolo, since the 1990s, has redefined the pictorial space as a fluid interplay between thought and expression.

Despite their differing paths, the artists converge around key themes that structure the exhibition into three sections, each corresponding to a room at the Institute: the reverse side of the canvas, the ambiguous status of the flag as an image, and the representation of absence. Through a dialogue of works—including reversed canvases, installations, paintings, and photographs—the exhibition spans sixty years, from 1963 to 2024, a period long enough for two generations to observe, respond to, and perhaps understand each other.