Elisa Montessori | 50 x 35 | Monitor
Monitor is pleased to present 50 x 35, celebrating ten years of collaboration with the gallery and marking Elisa Montessori’s third solo exhibition at its San Lorenzo space in Rome, following Ogni cosa è un’altra (2016) and Piante e Fiori (moralità boschiva) (2021).
50 x 35 takes shape as an anthology of works rather than a cohesive, programmatic project: a journey through Elisa Montessori’s rich recent production. On view is a selection of works produced between 2014 and 2026, some of which have never previously been shown.
Introduced by the artist’s book that gives the exhibition its title, the show offers a broad perspective on Montessori’s recent work, energetic, vital, and multifaceted. It draws from a wide range of influences, driven by an unrelenting curiosity, visible here in references to Chinese Grass Script and to the writings of Graham Sutherland. Perhaps its most fundamental aspect lies in an intuitive and instinctive practice.
Looking at the works on view—from Tropismi (2023–2024) to Lungotevere (2018), and up to those produced in 2026—what clearly emerges is the absence of any programmatic intent. Instead, one finds an instinctive, non-contingent identity, and the pursuit of a free mode of expression, unburdened by the need to become a “code”.
The exhibition thus finds its raison d’être in an attempt to bear witness to this free spirit and its continuous, vital energy, a breath that traces marks across different supports and materials. These materials range from traditional and modern media to found or incidental elements, or, as in the case of the large tree branch on display, simply “designated” as art, despite originating directly from nature.
For Elisa Montessori, art, painting and drawing are akin to involuntary actions, like breathing or being awake. Her language is at once organic and mental, yet always immediate: in her own words, “either it happens, or it doesn’t.”
A concept paper will be produced in collaboration with the artist for the exhibition, and will be presented on Friday, June 12, 2026.
Inauguration: Thursday, May 14, 2026, 5.30–8 pm
Exhibition dates: May 15 – July 17, 2026
Photo by Giorgio Benni. Courtesy of the artist and Monitor, Rome.
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