“Fragments of Infinity”, a double show with Fabio Ingrosso and Sofia Schartner, opened on February 12 at Corals in Milan on February 12 at Corals in Milan, coinciding with the full moon, a moment when emotions intensify and perceptions become sharper. Inspired by this deep connection between humanity and the cosmos, the exhibition explores the reciprocal influence between the earthly and celestial realms.
Fabio Ingrosso, “Beyond the Sky”, Moment II, iron, variable dimensions, 2025, ph. credit Sofia Schartner, courtesy of Corals Gallery
This dialogue between micro and macrocosm is central to Fabio Ingrosso’s research, whose site-specific installation transforms the exhibition space into an immersive, sensory journey beyond the visible. Ingrosso’s work is rooted in Arte Povera and conceptual art, favoring raw materials and essential processes to investigate the relationship between humankind, time and the universe. His installation, titled “Beyond the Sky,” unfolds in three distinct moments, each dedicated to a different phase of cosmic experience. The first act, Wonder, is a black-and-white video installation, silent and hypnotic, enveloping the viewer in an abstract universe. The artist captures ordinary moments, which evoke the observation of the moon and stars, recalling that primordial sense of awe that has always accompanied humanity’s gaze towards the sky.
Fabio Ingrosso, “Beyond the Sky”, Moment III, ephemeral artwork in marble dust, 2025, ph. credit Sofia Schartner, courtesy of Corals Gallery
Next comes Discovery, a series of sculptural works in iron and powders, inviting the audience to physically engage with the vastness of the cosmos. These geometric forms, reminiscent of lunar landscapes, rocky surfaces or volcanic terrains, embody humanity’s imperfect attempt to measure and comprehend the immeasurable through science and art. The final phase, Nothingness, is an ephemeral, immersive experience in which a fine layer of dust and earth dissolves beneath the spectator’s feet, accompanied by a rarefied, suspended soundscape. Here, perception becomes unstable, exposing the fragility of existence and the contrast between everything and nothing, between what is meant to disappear and the human desire to leave a mark. The cyclical nature of the exhibition, with its interplay between matter and absence, recalls the symbolic alchemies of Macondo in “One Hundred Years of Solitude” by Gabriel García Márquez – the transformation of reality through words, the power of illusion and the allure of scientific discovery. Ingrosso guides us to the threshold between life and death, wonder and knowledge, reality and the unknown, confronting us with the eternal question of our existence within the cosmos.
Sofia Schartner, “Anonymous Portraits”, blood samples in resin, 2022, ph credit Sofia Schartner, courtesy of Corals Gallery
The second half of the exhibition introduces the artistic practice of Sofia Schartner, whose work revolves around archiving and material accumulation. Her artistic language builds upon fragments, repetitions and visual rhythms, creating a layered narrative that delves into the relationship between individual and collective identity, memory and anonymity, presence and absence. This approach gives rise to “Anonymous Portraits,” an archive of crystallized memories. One hundred blood samples, sealed in resin, become suspended snapshots of human existence. Each sample is a biological fingerprint, a fragment of life anonymized by the serial nature of the installation. In this obsessive repetition, the individual dissolves into the multitude. Yet, within its DNA, its blood, its essence, it remains uniquely singular. The work reflects on the tension between preserving memory and erasing it within an impersonal archive, between singular identity and its transformation into a replicable, replaceable data point. This theme resonates deeply with contemporary society, where the vast accumulation of personal data risks slipping into systematic control, the loss of individuality and homogenization.
Sofia Schartner, “Un dilemma”, wood, magnets, and plastic cable ties, 2025, ph, credit Sofia Schartner courtesy of Corals Gallery
The artist’s investigation into human dynamics continues with “A Dilemma”, an installation where opposing materials – wood and magnets – engage in a continuous dialogue between constraint and release, control and surrender. Wood, solid and structural, represents the visible, the tangible, the constructed. Meanwhile, the magnet introduces an invisible force, a magnetic field that attracts and repels, creating a delicate balance between tension and fragility. Through this tension of opposing forces, Schartner delves into the dynamics of power and resistance, the perpetual struggle between stability and transformation, between the impulse to control and the necessity to surrender. Her work reflects the contradictions of contemporary society, where our identities are continuously documented, archived and analysed, yet risk being erased within a system that reduces human existence to mere data points, stripping away individuality and depth.
Fabio Ingrosso and Sofia Schartner, “Fragments of Infinity”, exhibition view at Corals gallery, Milano, ph. credit Sofia Schartner, courtesy of Corals Gallery
Both Ingrosso and Schartner present works that reflect the fragmented nature of human experience, composed of fleeting moments, memories and sensations. Their research is driven by the pursuit of the absolute, an exploration of deeper existential meaning and an understanding of the universe. By focusing on fundamental aspects of human life, their art reveals the beauty of uniqueness and impermanence, urging us to contemplate our place within the infinite.
Info:
Fabio Ingrosso and Sofia Schartner. Fragments of Infinity
12/02/2025 – 1/03/2025
curated by Greta Zuccali
Corals gallery
Via Evangelista Torricelli 21, Milano
Mon– Fri 15:00-19:00 pm
Saturday by appointment only
www.coralss.it
Art consultant and curator focused on modern and contemporary art. Trained in law and Master in Art Market Management, she has founded the Hub/Art exhibition space in Milan in 2017. She currently lives between Milan and Paris where she collaborates with galleries and spaces dedicated to contemporary art.
NO COMMENT