Italian sculptor Arcangelo Sassolino’s Diplomazija astuta, which was originally created for the Malta Pavilion at the 2022 Venice Biennale, will have a new life as in the end, the beginning for its Australian debut at the Museum of Old and New Art (Mona), Hobart.
Diplomazija astuta was originally inspired by Caravaggio’s 1608 altarpiece painting, The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist, in its depiction of light and shadow, also known as chiaroscuro. In it, Sassolino harnesses the properties of steel to recreate the same feeling of drama and suspense in a completely different medium.
