Les Bienveillantes.

“Les Bienveillantes”, 60x160x15, oil on canvas, 2025 - Group exhibition at Subtei Berlin, 48H Neukoelln, June 2025.

In the third and final act of Aeschylus’ Oresteia, the Furies (the three goddesses of vengeance) are enraged by Athena’s decision to spare Oreste, guilty of murder. They feel their identity is erased, if they cannot exercise punishment on humankind.
Athena though responds giving them a new, different mission: praising and rewarding the good and valiant, changing their name to “The Kindly Ones”(Les Bienveillantes, which is also the title of Jonathan Little’s historical novel).

Can then distruction also be regarded as good deed?
Can it be rewarded as an act of purification and progress?
The distruction and then reconstruction of the Berliner Keiserliches Schloss begs for this debate. Now more then ever.

(Thanks to everybody who visited the show, to Subtei Berlin for the occasion that inspired this painting, To Emanuele Guidi for the usual support and Gianluca Ranzi for always knowing what book l should read next)