Exhibitions: Mitoraj collectors and enthusiasts: "A unique event thanks to these special locations."

Collectors and enthusiasts of Igor Mitoraj's work gathered last Saturday at the Neapolis Archaeological Park to admire the Polish sculptor's 29 monumental works. "In all my years here at the park, I've never seen anything like it; it's truly majestic," said Stefania La Mesa, custodian of the Syracuse Archaeological Park. "I experienced this exhibition during its assembly, and I will follow it during its dismantling as well. I'm deeply attached to these statues; I'm in love with all of them, but I know they'll leave me." The goal of Nino Caruso, mayor of Ragalna, the town on Mount Etna that hosts one of Mitoraj's works, "The Cracked Theseus," is to preserve the sculpture, and there's good hope that this will be possible. "The 'Crepolato Theseus'," she explained, "is the fusion of the element and the territorial context that is Etna, the most important volcano of all and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The news is almost certain: we will be given the opportunity for a one-year extension, and during this year we will try in every way, both institutionally and by involving private individuals, to preserve the work, so that it remains available not only to our community but to the entire Etna area." "I have always loved Mitoraj," commented collector Alessandra Urbinati, "he is part of my aesthetic world. He is an artist who nourishes you spiritually, he nourishes you aesthetically, and you cannot do without him. When you own a Mitoraj sculpture, you become voracious and want more, and you continue to buy and preserve them for posterity because it doesn't belong to us but to everyone. I recommend seeing the exhibition because it is extraordinary and makes you feel at peace with everything around you." "I was fortunate enough to meet Mitoraj, and I began collecting some of his pieces at the Contini Gallery," recalled collector Gianantonio Basso. "I particularly love him because, as I'm also a dance enthusiast, I saw that the dancers' performances in this park were extremely spontaneous and recall the connection between these works and the myth, which was then sublimated by dance." "Mitoraj's work is marvelous both in very contemporary and very ancient contexts," commented Riccarda Grasselli of the Contini Art Gallery. "He fits in everywhere, both in modern and contemporary art, as well as in ancient art and archaeological sites. He is so strong that he manages to integrate and reveal his contemporaneity and his beauty; his magic is total magic, total emotion." "There's a clash here: beauty against beauty," points out Stefano Contini, owner of the Contini Art Gallery. "Mitoraj is an artist who has represented beauty throughout his life, and therefore he is one of the very few artists who has had the courage to confront his art in an equally important context, while always remaining himself, identifiable. And this is the greatness of a contemporary artist, who allows us to understand where we're coming from and perhaps also where we can go."