At the National Concordian Museum of Portogruaro, in conjunction with the European Heritage Days 2024, the contemporary art exhibition GETTING LOST IN THE LABYRINTH - 100 works comparing archaeology and contemporary art by artists Adolfina De Stefani and Antonello Mantovani will be inaugurated.

Starting from the premise that beauty has always been considered a pillar in the world of art and culture, and archaeology underlies this concept in the broadest way, the enchantment emanating from works of art and archaeological artifacts leads us to travel through time and the history of ancient civilizations, offering us a more intimate view of their beliefs and life philosophies. As actors in a never-ending show, the two artists transform the exhibition stage into a symbol of their eternal questioning and dialogue, in work and in life, in a perfect interrelation. Delving into their world of poetry-play-fantasy to invent new possible scenarios is an exercise that should be imposed: to look back with clarity and recognize what is most profound and authentic that deserves to be preserved; to adapt to changing times with the right balance of permeability and detachment; to approach any tomorrow without taking oneself too seriously.

When faced with the exhibition, the first impression is that of entering a place with a fairy-tale atmosphere, where joy (underlying), non-color, and play manifest in perfect balance. But appearances can be deceiving... it all depends on what and how one wants to look. A slightly more attentive viewer will notice the irony that pervades the entire work, offering a metaphorical reading key that reveals the symbolic aspects filtered through a subtle critical judgment, inevitably creating a "shift" in meaning.

The duo Adolfina De Stefani - Antonello Mantovani is no stranger to this kind of artistic approach, quite the opposite. Often their works pursue a reconfiguration of the present time through playful and sharp visual messages, sometimes provocative, in a perfect orchestration between memory and future, tradition and contemporaneity. Attracted by images and concepts that are part of a shared cultural perspective, the visitor is guided along the path without being aware of it, until perceiving, towards the end, a feeling of disorientation and the consequent ability to hypothesize other/new meanings.

In the recovery of the fantastic element, the exhibition GETTING LOST IN THE LABYRINTH - 100 works comparing archaeology and contemporaneity is dazzling and realistic at the same time. It is a choral event, a continuous exchange of lines between the two agents-acted upon and with the spectator. Then the dialogue becomes labyrinthine, mutable, a total immersion in the experience of art, in thoughts and in the processes of creation, even in the heart of relationships.