SOGNI D’ORIENTE

SOGNI D’ORIENTE – Ristorante Galleria Arté al Lago

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The exhibition Sogni d’Oriente by PUNTO SULL’ARTE arrives in Switzerland with an exhibition project that brings together five contemporary artists: Annalù, Jernej Forbici, Lara Martinato, Kyoji Nagatani, and Alice Zanin. Painting and sculpture engage in a dialogue along a path that weaves together dream, symbol, and spirituality, drawing inspiration from the East as an inner, contemplative dimension.

The works will be displayed in the refined Art Gallery Arté Restaurant in Lugano, an elegant space overlooking the shores of the lake and part of the prestigious five-star Hotel Villa Castagnola. For years, Art Gallery Arté Restaurant has offered a unique combination of contemporary art and haute cuisine, providing visitors with a complete sensory experience. This year, the works by our artists have been selected to remain on view until November 2026.

The artists of Sogni d’Oriente explore dream, symbol, and spirituality, finding in the East not a simple geographical reference, but an inner dimension shaped by balance, contemplation, and transformation.

Annalù investigates the themes of metamorphosis and impermanence through sculptures made of fiberglass, paper, and glass. Her fluid, suspended forms recall Zen philosophy and the continuous becoming of life. Among her recurring symbols are ginkgo leaves—emblems of longevity, rebirth, and wisdom—which become metaphors for a resilient and luminous spirituality.

Jernej Forbici’s painting focuses on landscape as a place of memory and inner reflection. His layered, silent views invite a slow, meditative gaze, evoking an Eastern sensibility in which nature is not merely a backdrop, but a living presence and a mirror of the spirit.

In Lara Martinato’s paintings, the figure of the samurai emerges as an archetype of discipline, balance, and awareness. Precious surfaces enriched with gold and pigments transform the warrior into a suspended presence, symbolizing a spiritual path that unites rigor and contemplation.

Kyoji Nagatani, a Japanese sculptor, presents bronze works with essential, ascending forms. His sculptures express birth, growth, and elevation, embodying the principles of Japanese aesthetics based on harmony, proportion, and the dialogue between emptiness and fullness.

Finally, Alice Zanin creates light, delicate creatures in papier-mâché, a material of ancient Chinese origin. Her animals, suspended between reality and dream, appear as poetic and silent presences—evocations of a natural world observed through an inner, contemplative gaze.

“Sogni d’Oriente: five artists between spirituality and nature” curated by Alessandre Redaelli. (Italian only)
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Short Artist bio:

ANNALÙ

Annalù (San Donà di Piave, 1976) is an internationally renowned Italian artist who lives and works between Jesolo and Dubai. She graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice in 1999 and has participated in international events such as the Venice Biennale (2001 and 2011). Her research explores metamorphic forms and imaginary architectures, creating works characterized by strong lyricism. Her sculptures, made with materials such as resinglass and paper, are three-dimensional pieces that evoke fluidity and transformation. Her work focuses on the transition between different states of matter, in a dynamic balance that unites nature and artifice. Annalù has exhibited in shows in Italy and abroad, including the United States, Dubai, China, Hong Kong, France, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and Russia. In 2009, she was selected for an exhibition at the Moya Museum in Vienna. Her works are included in collections such as the MACS in Catania and the MIM in Piacenza. In 2020, one of her sculptures was acquired by the VAF Foundation. In 2024, she collaborated with the company Reflex during Milan Design Week.

JERNEJ FORBICI

Jernej Forbici (Maribor, Slovenia, 1980) is a visual artist who lives and works between Kidričevo, Ptuj, and Vicenza. He graduated in Painting from the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice and specialized in Visual Arts and Performing Arts. His research focuses on landscape and large formats, narrating the reality of his native region, marked by the aluminum industry. Central to his artistic practice is a critical reflection on environmental pollution and the role of humanity. Since 1999, he has exhibited in solo and group shows in Europe, Canada, the United States, Argentina, and China. He has participated in major international biennials, including Hicetnunc in Pordenone (2003), IBCA in Prague (2005), and the 51st and 53rd Venice Biennale (2007, 2011). In 2012, he received a scholarship from the Slovenian Ministry of Culture, which took him to a residency in London. In 2019, he debuted in New York with the solo exhibition “Long Gone.” Since 2005, he has been the Artistic Director of ART STAYS, an international contemporary art festival in Ptuj. His works are included in public and private collections internationally.

LARA MARTINATO

Lara Martinato (Busto Arsizio, 1967) trained at the art high school and deepened her knowledge of archaeology and conservation restoration at Palazzo Spinelli in Florence. In 1991, she graduated from the Université Catholique in Paris, where she studied the techniques of the great masters in major museums. In 1995, she  lived in Rome, working as a painter for theatrical and cinematic set designs, alongside her work as a restorer, consultant for the Superintendency of Cultural Heritage, and interior decorator. After a period in London, she returned to Italy, developing artistic-conceptual research focused on contemporary society. Her painting, analog and evocative, centers on the figure of the samurai, a symbol of strength, discipline, and spiritual tension, often enhanced by the use of gold. The subjects become tools for exploring symbolic identities, inner anxieties, and universal archetypes. Her technical research is based on a rigorous study of composition and the use of materials such as plaster, tempera, and oil. Since 2003, she has regularly exhibited in solo and group shows; her works are present in public and private collections in Italy and abroad.

KYOJI NAGATANI

Born in Tokyo in 1950, Nagatani trained at the Tokyo University of the Arts and the Higher Institute of Research at the State University of Fine Arts, specializing in bronze casting in 1976. His relationship with Italy began in 1978 when he moved to Milan to attend the Brera Academy. His works quickly gained international recognition and entered important private collections. In 2000, on the occasion of the Jubilee, he created the Casket for the keys of the Holy Door of the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano in Rome. His research is expressed in sensual and monumental compositions that combine dream, poetry, and aesthetic reflection, using symbolic themes such as Wind, Time, Column, Door, Chair, Earth, and Silence. Divided between Italy and Japan, he has created numerous monumental works, including the Monument for the Hachioji Municipal Theater, the Wind Chair for the Open Air Museum of Utsukushigahara, the Wind Door for the Hakone open-air museum, and three monuments for the public gardens of Yoshikawa City.

ALICE ZANIN

Alice Zanin was born in Piacenza in 1987. A self-taught artist, she initially experimented with various expressive languages, before focusing her research, since 2012, almost exclusively on papier-mâché, a material that offers her great creative freedom. With this technique, she creates refined and surreal sculptures, often populated by light and suspended animals, characterized by a stylized physicality that tends toward the annulment of identity. She has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions, as well as national fairs. Among her most significant solo shows are “Animali Incartati” at the Triennale in Milan (2017), “The Great Hippocampus Question” at the Palazzo della Permanente in Milan (2016), and “Uccellacci & Uccellini. From Darwin to Pasolini” at the Palazzo della Regione in Bologna (2018). She has been a finalist for international awards such as the Arteam Cup and Combat Prize and has participated multiple times in Art Stays, an international contemporary art festival in Ptuj. In 2025, she has exhibited at Palazzo Citterio in Milan. Her works are included in private collections in Italy and abroad.