The eighth installment of Sacrosantum’s second edition – a program organized by Amici dei Musei Siciliani and curated by Adalberto Abbate and Maria Luisa Montaperto – opened last night at Oratorio di San Mercurio in Palermo, Italy.

“In the absence, in the silence, holiness”. The exhibition features a previously unseen installation by Francesco Simeti. For Sacrosanctum.8 the artist explored the theme of holiness and recreated a lush Garden of Eden erupting in a dazzling array of bright colored blossoms and plants.

Simeti takes images from magazines and newspapers, modifies them digitally and then implants them into repeating formulas, creating fascinating wallpapers with a strong visual appeal. The first impact with his ornamental patterns brings about an aesthetic pleasure and a reassuring feeling; on looking closer, however, one cannot fail to notice unexpected, alarming details: his surreal scenarios full of wonder are imbued with a sense of otherworldliness and anxiety. Simeti creates an ensemble that is not simply decorative, but symbolically reflects the ambivalence of life between nature and artifice, beauty and chaos.

Born in Palermo in 1968, Simeti graduated in Sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna and then moved to New York, where he works and lives in Brooklyn. He is well-known for his site-specific installations created with wallpaper, sculptures, 3D collage, and video. His artworks have been acquired by major international museum collections such as the Smithsonian Cooper Hewitt in New York, Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and Philadelphia Museum of Art.