Metamorphoses. Chiara Crepaldi & Melania Toma

Chiara Crepaldi (b. 1993, Legnano, Italy) is an Italian sculptor living and working between Milan and France. Her artistic research delves into the theme of metamorphosis, drawing inspiration from Ovidian transformations and the ability of matter to shift in texture and meaning, becoming vision. In her works, imaginary figures, towers, arches, and fossilized plants intertwine within spaces where encounters and exchanges create new and unexpected possibilities. Crepaldi's creative process is rooted in an intimate synergy between form and technique, transforming materials like iron and bronze into poetic narratives that inhabit a vibrant present.

Crepaldi's sculptures, whether delicate bronze forms modeled from folded sheets of paper or iron structures moved by the wind, evoke a precarious balance between movement and stability, lightness and strength. Her fantastical architectures and imaginary characters seem to come to life, twisting and bending in a dynamic rhythm that mirrors the breath of life. Through her manipulation and transformation of matter, Crepaldi gives voice to a world of interconnections where the boundaries between human and imaginary dissolve, celebrating the narrative power inherent in sculpture.

Melania Toma (b. 1996, Padua, Italy) is a multidisciplinary artist based in London whose research explores the dissolution of opposites to imagine new forms of interconnection beyond anthropocentric perspectives. Her practice combines personal myths with symbols of fertility, birds, fish, and flowers, creating a distinctive visual language expressed through sculpture, textiles, and painting. Organic and atavistic elements, constantly growing or decomposing, merge in her works, reflecting an ongoing dialogue between life and transformation.

Toma's paintings embody a hybrid vitality, blending bold painterly gestures with fine lines, raw materials with vibrant colors, and densely populated surfaces with empty spaces. Her most recent works incorporate bacteria, fungi, and microscopic elements to dissolve boundaries between bodies and suggest new relationships with "other-than-human" entities. These shifting forms challenge traditional hierarchies and evoke a transformative vision of coexistence and regeneration.