On Thursday, December 2, 2021, Museo Casa Don Bosco inaugurated a painting exhibition entitled Matteo 25: Keep it Human, by Massimiliano Ungarelli. The exhibition is open through January 6, 2022.

Stefania De Vita, Director of Casa Don Bosco Museum, moderated the ceremonies which included interviews with the exhibition creator, Massimiliano Ungarelli, and his brother, Marco Costa, a Capuchin friar and Vice President of the Midrash Association of Capuchin Friars of Turin.

Mathew 25: Keep it Human is more of an ongoing project than an exhibition, because its capacity to narrate the lives and faces of humanity is in constant evolution. The emotions conveyed through the women, men and children depicted provoke reflection: the objective is not to “wow” the observer or create amazement. Rather, the goal is to convey a reality that is all around us, to tell the story, with respect, attentiveness and concreteness, of those who are forced to abandon their land and their country as a result of war and persecution.

A sequel to Ungarelli’s On the Run from Nazareth, this exhibit places the plight of refugees within a broader reflection (Massimiliano Ungarelli).

Matthew 25 refers to the chapter of Matthew’s gospel which basically speaks about love. A love that is to be practiced and lived fully, not just as an ideal that is ethereal and far away, but a love that is spoken on the face of our brothers and sisters, men and women who suffer, who rejoice, who are in crisis, who are in prison, who are refugees, that is, on the face of all women and men. This is what our God says (Brother Marco Costa).

Inauguration of the exhibition, “Matteo 25: Keep it Human”

In light of the presentations by Ungarelli and Brother Marco on the exhibitions themes of hospitality and inclusivity, the ceremonies moved into the ground floor gallery to view the artwork.

The wooden panels, assembled from carpentry scraps, reproduce photographs whose subjects have been reinterpreted by Ungarelli in pastel and charcoal. Each panel has an acrylic background, in warm colours. The shades of red present in each background represent love, violence, danger, life, blood, fire, passion, royalty, war and much more. In this collection, red was also used as a symbol of the Passion of Christ, the blood of the martyrs, the tongues of fire of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, and lastly, even as the colour of hell.

Video of the Inauguration:

Thanks to the Midrash Association, the exhibition will be accompanied by two events: on December 4 and 19 at 4 p.m., music, readings and dance will help visitors “enter” the images and the lives narrated through Ungarelli’s hands.

The exhibition will be open through January 6. Admission is free.

Please note that in accordance with current government regulations (DPCM, July 23, 2021), visitors wishing to enter the Museum must show their Green Pass accompanied by a valid identity document.

Go to the exhibition