In the Winter of 2021 I had the privilege of working on charcoal drawings for artist Pietro Ruffo as an intern, for what would become the outline for an installation at the Sala Barberini of the Vatican Library. The work was also shown at Galerie Italienne - Paris. Below is a summary of the exhibition from Pietro Ruffo.
“The Clearest Way is a site-specific installation realized by Pietro Ruffo in the Sala Barberini of the Vatican Library in 2021. Here the artist gave shape – drawing on thousands of graph paper rolls – what moves within the soul of the librarian and the scholar. For the researcher, shelves are not repositories of books, but rather windows onto new horizons, a starting point for travel and exploration. Moving around a library means being continuously exposed to references of all kinds that arise from the books protruding from the shelves. Like the lush, plump forest of Ruffo. This dense tropical forest represents too the ancient habitat from which the existence and the evolution of human life on earth originated, but also the current impact barometer of our species on the planet.” - Exhibition Text
Original Charcoal Piece
Orignal Exhibition Outline
Working on the charcoal drawing in Pietro’s studio
Pope Francis at exhibition opening
