on 1 april 2023, on the occasion of “bergamo-brescia Italian capitals of culture 2023” in the grande miglio building at brescia castle, a major exhibition of ancient and contemporary textiles is to be inaugurated.
for the first time the exhibition will present a precious group of 35 carpets from the zaleski collection coming from a specific area, that of turkestan, an extensive area of central asia between the caspian sea and mongolia, today occupied by various countries the names of which have in common the ending -istan, which in persian means “land of…”.
the antique carpets, suspended in the air in the charming space of the salone del grande miglio, will be placed alongside textile artefacts created by international artists from the 20th and 21st centuries (herta ottolenghi wedekind, alighiero boetti, sheila hicks and others), so as to re-establish the necessary dialogue between a thousand-year-old tradition and the rediscoveries of its fascinating manual methods in modernity.
the entire space of the grand exhibition hall will be distinguished by a site-specific intervention by letizia cariello, conceived so as to create the feel of a ‘soft’ environment in which thin red textile filaments will mark the volumes of the palazzo and serve as a guide for visitors as in a kind of light, almost imperceptible labyrinth where they will walk, following the ancient myth of the ariadne’s thread.