Twelfth Edition: from october 26 to november 16, 2023

COMEL AWARD VANNA MIGLIORIN

Aluminium, the silent strenght

Not he who begins, but he who perseveres.

Leonardo da Vinci (plaque mounted on the Amerigo Vespucci ship)

Among the characteristics of aluminium is corrosion resistance, that is, the ability of this metal to resist the action of external agents. This happens because, in contact with oxygen, a film, a protective layer, is created on the surface of aluminium, which is thin and resistant. It is as if the metal puts in place a kind of defense mechanism, protection, integrity, to endure the weather and external aggression,in order not to lose its physical and chemical characteristics. Beneath the surface, aluminium remains itself and preserves its peculiarities. A natural process that can be said to be analogous to the reactions of human beings, who often, in order to defend themselves, mask their feelings, personal and true psychological and spiritual traits.

“Aluminium, beneath the surface,” starting from a specific property of this metal, wants to be an encouragement to aim at the heart of things, to express in art what is often hidden behind appearances, what leaks out, what is not immediately visible and delineable, what is hidden. Art after all by its nature is also forwarding into the invisible, probing the inner spaces of existence.

THE JURY

GIORGIO AGNISOLA
Art critic and writer, lecturer
Chairman of the Jury

Giorgio Agnisola (1947), art critic and writer, is Professor Emeritus of Sacred Art and Cultural Heritage at the Pontifical Theological Faculty of Southern Italy (ITS). He is one of Italy’s leading specialists in contemporary sacred art. He was one of the founders of the School of Higher Education in Art and Theology of the Pontifical Faculty of Naples, San Luigi section, which he co-directed from 2006 to 2019. He is valde peritus of the Faculty for Aesthetic-Theological Sciences. He edits the AT periodical, online and in print, Arts, and theologies, and is the founder and presenter of the formation project VisioDei. He worked from 1983 to 1995 in the French-speaking countries of Europe, within the framework of international agreements, as a consultant for modern and contemporary art. From 2005 to 2008, he was the Gaeta Municipal Art Gallery Director. He has curated exhibitions of international importance on a scientific level. Among them: Il Simbolismo in Belgio (Symbolism in Belgium) (Caserta, 1985), Emilio Greco, la dimensione psicologica e spirituale (The Psychological and Spiritual Dimension)(2010); Alberto Magnelli, opere 1915-1970 (Alberto Magnelli, Works 1915-1970) (2012); Alberto Burri, Unico e multiplo (Unique and Multiple) (2014), Afro, La memoria ritrovata (Afro, The Found Memory) (2016), Pietro Consagra, La memoria trasparente (Transparent Memory) (2017), Aligi Sassu, 1915-1930 (2019), Rosso Guttuso, opere 1934-1984 (Rosso Guttuso, Works 1934-1984) (2020). He has written and edited many books. Among the most recent ones: Lo sguardo e l’oltre (The Look and the beyond (2018), Arte e dialogo nel Mediterraneo (Art and dialogue in the Mediterranean) (edited) ( 2019), La materia trasparente (The transparent matter) (2021), Henri Matisse, Gioia di vivere (Henri Matisse, Joy of living) (2022)(edited), L’amore spezzato, Dei distacchi e degli addii ( The broken love, of detachments and farewells) (2023), Quale arte sacra oggi? ( Which sacred art today?) (edited, with A. Dall’Asta). He is a member of the International Association of Art Critics. He has contributed to the cultural pages of the daily newspaper Avvenire since 1990. For his work as an art critic he has received two international awards: Chevalier de l’Ordre de Leopold II in Belgium, in 1987, and Officier de l’Ordre de Mérite in Luxembourg, in 1991. He was recently awarded the Premio Montale Fuori di casa for the Art section.

MATILDE DI MURO
Architect, art historian and critic, journalist, lecturer

Graduated in Architecture from the University of Naples “Federico II”, she later attended the School of Advanced Studies in Art and Theology at the Pontifical Theological Faculty of Southern Italy, San Luigi section, obtaining in 2022 a Diploma in Art and Theology, with a focus on the theme: “Man, drama, and spirit in contemporary art.” She currently teaches Drawing and Art History in secondary schools and is the author of articles, critical texts, and reviews for specialized journals and art exhibitions. She is an editor for the online cultural magazine “Naòs – At the heart of art and knowledge”, regularly publishes reviews in the journal “AT, Arts and Theologies”, and participates in the project “VisioDei – Living faith through art.”

FRANCO MARROCCO
Director of the Brera Academy, professor and artist

Born in Rocca d’Evandro in 1956, he graduated from both the Art High School and the Academy of Fine Arts. He held his first solo exhibition in 1978. He took part in the 35th San Fedele Prize in Milan, the 11th and 12th Rome Quadriennale, the 49th, 56th, and 60th Michetti Prize, and the 13th, 14th, and 15th Biennial of Sacred Art at the Stauros Museum of San Gabriele al Sasso.
He participated in exhibitions such as “The Modernity of Lyrism” held in Stockholm (Sweden) and at Joensuu’s Art Museum (Finland); “The Game of Textile” at the Royal Museum in Beijing (China) and at the Ve Pat Nedim Tor Museum in Istanbul (Turkey); “Painting as a Metaphor of Being” at the Italian Cultural Institute in Stuttgart; “Out of Sync – Painting Against All Odds” at the Gallery of Modern Art in Cento; “A Sea of Art – The Mediterranean as a Mirror of the Sky” at Palazzo Sant’Elia in Palermo; and the 54th Venice Biennale.
In parallel, he has held numerous solo exhibitions in Italy and throughout Europe. He is Professor of Painting at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan, where he served as Director from 2012 to 2018, and was re-elected to the position in early 2025.

FRANCESCA TUSCANO

Art historian and critic

After graduating in Modern Literature from the University of Rome Tor Vergata, she began collaborating with the gallery “Arte e Pensieri,” becoming a partner in 2011. She established connections with artists such as Luigi Boille, Ettore Consolazione, Carlo Lorenzetti, Achille Pace, and Pasquale Santoro, for whom she has written critical texts.
In 2016, she earned a PhD from the University of Roma Tre and has continued her work as an art historian and curator of exhibitions for museums, universities, cultural centers, and private galleries both in Italy and abroad.
Since 2019, she has collaborated with the Castello Colonna Museum in Genazzano, and from February 2023 she has been the director of the Domenico Riccardi Civic Art Museum in Olevano Romano, with which she has been involved since 2013.
Particularly interested in the relationship between the arts and literature, she dedicates part of her research to poetic production and the exploration of the connections between poetry and visual art.

MARIA GABRIELLA MAZZOLA
Aluminium Sector Manager

Running the company COMEL Industrie. with her brother Adriano and sister Luisa, she combines technical-business preparation with organizational and coordination skills, bringing the company new guidelines such as attention to communication, innovation and marketing. She has always supported, personally and with the company, cultural activities in favour of the territory and animal protection. In December 2012 Maria Gabriella received an award for entrepreneurial merits from the “Nuova Immagine Latina Cultural Association”. She is president of the “VANNA MIGLIORIN Cultural Association” which promotes contemporary intellectual and artistic works to the public, in all their forms and expressions. Among the various activities of the association, the promotion of the COMEL Award and the organization of monographic exhibitions dedicated to artists of international fame.

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