Nicola Samorì | Classical Collapse

The exhibition Classical Collapse proposes a bold dialogue between tradition e simultaneous contamination, bringing together the ancient splendour of the collections of the Ambrosian Art Gallery with the powerful and disturbing visions of Nicola Samorì. Over fifty works by the artist — paintings and sculptures — interact with masterpieces of classical painting and sculpture, transporting visitors to a suspended dimension where art history is constantly called into question.

In this context, the Pinacoteca is not simply a container, but becomes a critical device: its collection, a symbol of rational rigour and European order, breaks with Samorì's deformations, cracks, fragmented or blackened bodies — images that speak of vulnerability, decline and metamorphosis. The contrast between ideal beauty and figurative degradation generates a sense of emotional tension e reflection on the role of visual memory, on the idea of perfection and on the fragility of aesthetic heritage.

The project, curated by Demetrio Paparoni e Alberto Rocca, invites us to rethink the “classic” not as an immutable model, but as living matter that can be pursued, deconstructed and reinvented. Visitors are guided along a path that shakes their certainties: ancient beauty cracks, tradition crumbles, and from its ruins emerges a new form of beauty — restless, contemporary, urgent.