Louise Giovanelli: A Song of Ascents

The exhibition takes its title from a series of religious psalms traditionally recited by pilgrims en route to sacred sites. For Giovanelli, “ascent” reflects the human desire to reach heightened states of consciousness—through spirituality, love, intoxication, performance, or even horror. Her paintings explore this pursuit through vivid colour, layered textures, and heightened expression, evoking both ecstasy and unease.

The exhibition includes nine new works alongside existing ones. Many are inspired by film stills, while others draw from photographs taken in working-class clubs and theatres in England. These modest venues—with their velvet curtains, spotlighting, and everyday theatricality—are transformed into spaces of collective performance and escapism. Giovanelli elevates these scenes with details such as falling drapes, shimmering fabrics, and ornate lighting, suggesting a near-religious reverence often associated with music and its devoted audiences.

Her focus on small, fleeting elements—a curl of hair, a piece of furniture—contrasts with the fantastical scale of her compositions. Using classical techniques and finely layered oil paint, she pushes the medium to its limits. The result is a body of work that hovers between reality and fantasy, the familiar and the uncanny.