Collateral Beauty, a collective exhibition in Italy featuring artists from Korea and other countries
2025-12-16On 11 October 2025, a collective exhibition of contemporary and visual art was inaugurated at Calendasco Castle in Italy. The exhibition, organised by the association Luci & Ombre Arti visive Piacenza, featured Italian and foreign artists, including two Koreans: photographer Ineok Yang and digital artist Alberto Lee.
Every year, Luci & Ombre Arti visive Piacenza organises exhibitions dedicated to promoting Italian and international art and photography, with a particular focus on lesser-known artists. The exhibitions are distinguished by their original concepts, designed to stimulate the creativity of artists and photographers and offer visitors new point of view. This year's exhibition was inspired by the concept of Collateral Beauty, expressed in the film of the same name and developed by Maria Lisa Skarpa, president of the Luci & Ombre - Arti Visive Piacenza association and curator of the Bellezza Collaterale exhibition. She describes the project as follows:
‘Collateral Beauty is a project that I feel deeply alive: not only conceived, but also cultivated, supported and carried forward with care. [...] It has attracted the interest of artists and photographers not only from all over Italy, but — for the first time in the association's history — also from various countries around the world. A response that has confirmed how beauty can be reborn even in the most complex moments and reveal itself to be universal.’
She goes on to explain the aim of the exhibition:
‘This project moves souls and minds with a shared goal: to give voice to one's life experiences, to recount visions and feelings through the act of creation. Ultimately, it means choosing to be there, to exist and to dialogue beyond all barriers.’
Maria Lisa Skarpa emphasises how art and photography can be a starting point for constructive dialogue between different cultures. The artists who participated in the exhibition fully understood her message, and their works are the most authentic testimony to this: sincere expressions of what her words were able to inspire.
The exhibition saw the participation of Italian and international artists, highlighting the key role of the association's team in supporting accessibility to the exhibition in various ways, as explained by Maria Lisa:
'Art can also be accessible because its protagonists, the artists, without whom no form of art would exist, feel called to participate not only thanks to the ease of registration for the project promoted by the Luci & Ombre - Arti Visive Piacenza association, but also because of the willingness to present different artistic disciplines, as well as the care taken in accompanying the candidate through the process until the exhibition is dismantled.
Finally, the accessibility that has been successful has also and above all been that which makes the artist feel that they want to be part of an experience that is worth living, even if they come from outside Italy and, sometimes, even from far away (from neighbouring countries such as Poland, Switzerland, Portugal, etc., but also from further afield, such as Korea).'
I took part in the exhibition as a collaborator and art historian, following Ineok Yang and Alberto Lee through all stages of the project, from registration to the conclusion of the exhibition.
Ineok Yang photographer and Royal Palace commentator in Seoul, contributed to the theme of Collateral Beauty with Comforting beauty nine photographs dedicated to Gyeonghoeru that symbolises power and aesthetic value, interpreted through a visual language capable of capturing the small changes of the seasons. About the idea of "Collateral Beauty" of Gyeonghoeru Ineok said: "is a comforting beauty that can only be felt by looking at it". Although it is an artificial building, it is possible to admire completely different scenes of the Gyeonghoeru Pavilion, season after season, weather after weather, moment after moment. It is comforting to see the passage of time in such a beautiful and evocative setting and to capture the changes in the surrounding nature with a fresh eye, as if we were observing it for the first time.
Alberto Lee, on the other hand, presented Time's puppet show (marionettist) a video art work which, through the presence of its characters, offers a reflection on the precariousness of existence, individual choices and the very notion of beauty and time. Art, as he himself states, is the means by which he expresses the complexity of his inner world. His works are rich in symbolic and natural elements that he uses to express his deepest thoughts. His art is always accompanied by music that he composes himself and has always been part of his life. In fact, Alberto is also a digital artist, creator and music producer, and in his work he manages to combine art, technology and music to always create something surprising that makes you reflect on life and nature.
During the opening, I had the opportunity to meet some visitors interested in Korean contemporary art and photography. With some of them, it was possible to establish a constructive dialogue, encouraging an exchange of ideas and impressions that further confirmed the value of the exhibition as a space for cultural exchange.
It was a valuable opportunity to raise awareness of Korean art in an international context, in dialogue with artists from different countries. Seeing Ineok Yang's photographs of the Gyeonghoeru alongside the works of European photographers, or Alberto Lee's video art displayed in the same room as paintings by other artists, made me reflect on how art can truly unite people, transcend boundaries and become the basis for authentic dialogue between different cultures.
Info and photo credits:
Luci & Ombre Arti visive Piacenza Instagram
Ineok Yang Instagram
Alberto Lee Instagram
The choice of Dany Instagram
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