Within the SECCI Gallery in Milan, NOVO is a research platform dedicated to artistic practices that explore the historical, political and symbolic fractures of the present. The project, born in Florence and currently curated by Marco Scotini, is distinguished by a program built on conceptual affinities and shared tensions, rather than formal or geographical criteria. In this interview, Sara Cirillo, who directly follows NOVO, retraces the project’s genesis, explores the work developed with artists such as Doruntina Kastrati and Omar Mismar, and previews the program’s upcoming events, which include José Carlos Martinat, Seba Calfuqueo and Prabhakar Pachute, reflecting on NOVO‘s role within the SECCI Gallery’s identity.
Sara Cirillo, Director of the gallery, 2025. Courtesy Galleria SECCI
Silvia Cornelli: NOVOis a project you follow closely, together with Eduardo Secci. How did it begin and what does it represent within SECCI Gallery?
Sara Cirillo: NOVO was conceived in Florence as a necessary space for research, designed to host practices that resist immediate legibility. We wanted to create a place where art could function as a critical tool, capable of addressing the opaque areas of the present. The name NOVO does not suggest novelty as a declaration, but rather an ongoing process of rethinking artistic languages and responsibilities. Although it operates as an autonomous section, NOVO is fully consistent with SECCI’s long-standing commitment to experimental and politically engaged research.
How did Marco Scotini’s curation influence the project’s identity and programming?
Working with Marco Scotini allowed NOVO to develop a rigorous structure. His long-standing focus on genealogies of power, postcolonial processes and forms of cultural resistance has guided the program toward practices that analyze political mechanisms rather than merely representing them. NOVO is conceived as a trajectory in which each exhibition enters into dialogue with the others, forming a layered and non-linear narrative.
Doruntina Kastrati, “Clouds of White Dust”, installation view, curated by Marco Scotini, 2025, Milano. Ph Stefano Maniero. Courtesy The Artist and SECCI
Doruntina Kastrati’s exhibition marked one of NOVO’s early moments. What do you consider central to her practice?
Kastrati’s work addresses the material conditions of labor and the productive structures of industrial modernity, with particular attention to gender dynamics. Through installations involving industrial materials and repetitive modules, Kastrati makes visible what is usually marginalized: female labor, fatigue and the bodily dimension of production. Her exhibition clearly articulated one of NOVO’s core directions, where formal research and critical positioning are inseparable.
Omar Mismar’s practice is equally complex. How did his project unfold within NOVO?
Omar Mismar works through a complex mix of media such as mosaics, neon and video pratices, weaving together philosophical, religious and literary references. His practice examines the construction of identity and the ways in which the body is regulated and symbolically charged. In the exhibition, the works created a strongly introspective environment, where intimacy collided with broader ideological structures, without seeking reconciliation.
Omar Mismar, “Exercises in Ruins”, installation view, curated by Marco Scotini, 2025, Milano. Ph. Stefano Maniero. Courtesy the Artist and SECCI
The next event will be in February with an exhibition by José Carlos Martinat. How does this project fit into NOVO?
José Carlos Martinat is an artist we have followed for a long time and his work represents a crucial step for NOVO. His research investigates surveillance systems, data collection and manipulation, revealing the technological infrastructures that shape individual and collective behavior. The exhibition brings together digital archives, images and control devices, opening a new phase of the program that focuses more explicitly on contemporary architectures of power.
After Martinat, the program will continue with Seba Calfuqueo and Prabhakar Pachute. What can you anticipate about their projects?
Seba Calfuqueo’s work directly addresses indigenous identity, the body and territory from a Mapuche perspective. Through performance, video and installation, Calfuqueo challenges colonial narratives and representational regimes that have historically marginalized indigenous bodies and knowledge systems. In contrast, Prabhakar Pachute operates within a more subdued, yet comparably political, context. His drawings and installations reflect on urban transformation, informal architectures and extractive economies in India, presenting the landscape as a site of conflict and historical layering.
AA.VV., “Le contraddizioni della fragilità”, installation view, curated by Angel Moya Garcia, 2021, Firenze. Photo Stefano Maniero, Courtesy José Carlos Martinat and SECCI Firenze
What role does NOVO play today in defining SECCI Gallery’s identity?
NOVO is a clear statement of intent. It is the space where SECCI openly affirms its commitment to practices that embrace complexity and risk as necessary conditions, reaffirming the gallery’s role as an active site for the production of critical thought.
Silvia Cornelli
Info:
NOVO, a project by SECCI
curated by Marco Scotini
Ongoing: Exercises in Ruins, Omar Mismar
September 19, 2025 – December 20, 2025
Upcoming: Ruinophilia, José Carlos Martinat
February 10, 2026 – April 1, 2026
Via Olmetto 1, 20123 Milano
www.seccigallery.com
is a contemporary art magazine since 1980
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