Geografie invisibili
Elena Ceretti Stein
Ncontemporary Venice
Ncontemporary is pleased to present Geografie invisibili (Invisible geographies), the first solo exhibition by artist Elena Ceretti Stein (Milan, 1981) in the gallery’s Venitian space. The exhibition brings together a series of recent works that deepen the artist’s exploration of the relationships between the human, nature, and the invisible dimensions of existence.
Ceretti Stein’s work moves along the threshold that both separates and unites the human and the nonhuman, matter and spirit. Each piece is conceived as a living organism, in which time, nature, and body merge in a continuous cycle of transformation. Trained in Cultural Studies at the University of the Arts in London and later at the Bezalel Academy in Tel Aviv, the artist brings to her practice an anthropological sensitivity that translates into a constant investigation of the ways in which cultures construct myths, symbols, and shared systems of knowledge.
In Geografie invisibili, the dialogue between humankind and the cosmos takes shape in a series of works that map subtle connections between visible and hidden worlds. The carpet becomes a ritual surface and a sensitive cartography, where constellations and zodiacs from different cultures meet and overlap, giving form to a planetary imaginary in which the human being no longer recognizes itself as the center, but as part of a shared horizon. Throughout history, every civilization has projected its own reflection into the sky, seeking in the stars the key to destiny. In this universal gesture, Ceretti Stein perceives a radical truth: the need to recognize oneself in the non-human, to abandon the anthropocentric hierarchy and enter a dimension of cosmic horizontality.
Her research is not limited to representation but unfolds as a process of metamorphosis. The artist reactivates ancient symbols and archetypal forms, reinterpreting them through contemporary materials and gestures. Thus, the pictorial language expands into space, engaging with three dimensionality and light, while matter itself—pigment, fabric, water, fiber acquires an alchemical value. The works become portals inviting contemplation of the continuity between microcosm and macrocosm, between what is born and what fades away.
Through a holistic and interdisciplinary approach, Elena Ceretti Stein merges magical and scientific thought, offering a vision of knowledge as both a sensory and spiritual experience. The exhibition invites viewers to rethink their connection with the Earth, to read the world as a body in constant transformation, where every element—human, animal, mineral, or astral—participates in the same net of existence.
In her visual universe, myth and biology, ritual and astronomy coexist as complementary languages. Ceretti Stein’s works do not provide answers but open spaces for listening and silence—places where we can rediscover the deep rhythm of life, its invisible interconnections, and the fragile beauty of everything destined to transform.
Ncontemporary 