It’s often thought that over-extending is a mistake. Creating exhibitions filled with works that overwhelm the space can clash with the atmosphere the various pieces express. While this is true for most exhibitions, the Microcosms exhibition at Studio la Linea Verticale is certainly an exception. The sixteen works on display, all small in size, invite the viewer to engage with the artwork up close. The intimacy of the detail echoes the grandeur these works express. «It is in the small dimension that infinity can sometimes be observed most clearly».

AA.VV., “Microcosmi”, installation view at Studio la Linea Verticale, courtesy Studio la Linea Verticale

Studio la Linea Verticale has always paid particular attention to the realm of transcendence. The idea of ​​moving upward, of ascending, of following the impulse toward the spirit, is one of the main guiding principles adopted by the gallery. This time, a specific format was chosen. The small size unites all the artists, creating an overall vision that, despite being full of voices, given the large number of artists exhibited, cannot be described as chaotic. Indeed, the voices whisper. To grasp the meaning of the various works, it is necessary to lean in, to create a closeness, a connection. This closeness isolates the observer from the rest, allowing one to perceive how, when one commits to delving deeper and completely isolates oneself from what surrounds us, one can perceive an opening to something much larger.

Claudio Valerio, “Culla”, 2025, charcoal, natural resin and oil on wood, 4,5 x 6 cm, courtesy Studio la Linea Verticale

In the exhibition, the works of sixteen artists coexist harmoniously within the exhibition space, creating dialogues and associations. All the artists have produced small-scale works, striving not to exceed 10 x 10 cm. Upon entering the exhibition space, we will first see the works of Marieke Pauwels, who, with very precise and careful study, creates small, smooth objects that at first glance resemble bones. An artist who explores the reinterpretation of worship is Navid Azimi Sajadi, who creates a bricolage of elements drawn from the diverse realities he encounters on his numerous travels, composing a synthesis of symbols that, extrapolated from their homeland, become references to something profoundly ancient and spiritual.

Monica Mazzone, “Alla luce – Faccia a faccia”, 2025, oil on board and aluminum frame, 11,8 x 10 cm, courtesy Studio la Linea Verticale

Claudio Valerio, on the other hand, focuses on the inner vision he represents on a wooden brick. Using crushed charcoal mixed with various resins, the brick becomes the support on which a landscape deeply rooted in the artist’s inner world is painted, born directly from the inner vision that produced it. Silvia Inselvini explores meditation by passing her black and blue pen over a wooden block so many times that the obsessive repetition creates a thick, oily layer. The realm of numbers, mathematics, and geometry enters the exhibition thanks to Monica Mazzone, who, based on the random numbers (or those belonging to a higher order) that enter her life, composes precise and refined geometric figures.

Silvia Inselvini, “Apoteosi (A10)”, 2025, blue and black ballpoint pen on board and chalk, 10 x 10 x 5 cm, courtesy Studio la Linea Verticale

Another work of absolute precision and technical expertise is that of Mohammed El Hajoui, who uses paper cutting to create arabesque geometric inlays that evoke the idea of ​​a portal, devotion and meditation. Finally, the artist who created the smallest work in the exhibition is Ludovico Bomben. Reflecting on the potential of a tiny element, he linked the Christian biblical story to gold and thus to the transcendence afforded by the material itself. This creates an overall vision of the work (composed of one hundred pieces from various galleries and buyers) that, despite its size, is so small that upon entering the exhibition space, it’s hard to even notice. Clearly displayed, however, is the magnifying glass provided specifically for searching and observing it. These are just seven of the sixteen artists exhibited, each in their own way, united by an interest in the beyond, transcendence and spirituality.

Mohammned El Hajoui, “Ignoto”, 2025, carved cards, 14,5 x 12 cm, courtesy Studio la Linea Verticale

But the Microcosmi exhibition is not just a group showcasing artists with this sensibility. The exhibition itself speaks through its size. The physical constraints of the works evoke the transcendence that underpins the exploration of all poetics, given that the atmosphere this format creates is intimate and profound. It requires inner silence, attention and care. It evokes the immense through the minuscule. It can be said that Microcosms is an exhibition that, through the size of the works and the layout, clearly and simply expresses the depth that every artist in the gallery seeks and that has always been at the heart of the interests of an exhibition space whose very name speaks to us of transcendence, ascension, elevation and spirituality, using art as a means to discuss the universe that pertains to each of these themes.

Info:

AA.VV., Microcosms
12/12/2025 – 17/01/2026
Studio la Linea Verticale
via dell’Oro 4b | Bologna
www.studiolalineaverticale.it

Samuel Tonelli

Always connected to the art world, Samuel Tonelli attended the course in Art Education and Communication at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna and furthered his studies with the two-year master’s program in Education and Cultural Mediation of Artistic Heritage. After gaining experience mediating in various exhibitions and teaching art history at the art high school in Bologna, he developed a passion for art writing, which he sees as a powerful means of expression capable of opening up visions, broadening horizons and enriching the understanding of diverse perspectives on reality.