How can we look at the work of a neurodivergent artist without falling into clichés or paternalism? You might say that, since neurodivergence has as many nuances as human beings themselves, in the end it is like looking at any other artist. This is true, and not true. The difference does not lie in neurodivergence: it lies in the relationship that takes shape, in the way his gesture forces us to reconsider our perceptual categories.

Tommaso Panichi offers no escape routes: he is so sincere, so immediate in telling his way of being in the world through brushes and colours, that there are no superstructures in which to hide. There is a person in his full presence, surprising in the communicative force of his work, of his gesture, of his colour, of his mark. And there are the titles (how much I love the candour of “This is what came out” — I am sure this happens to many artists, but few would have the courage to declare it so openly!), which are a diary of his life, of his relationship with the outside world.

Tommaso works with the urgency of someone who feels fully himself only with brushes in hand, in his world of colours, canvases and sheets — which is also his daily diary of living, his way of telling us about himself and of saying how he feels.

But Tommaso is capable — contrary to what is often assumed about autistic people — of greeting you and asking, “How are you?” That “How are you?” struck me: not a question others ask him, but the question Tommaso asks us. Because this little phrase, which might seem merely polite, overturns the very vision we have of autism and neurodivergence, dismantling the cliché of people who are folded entirely into themselves. Certainly, that exists — but not only that.

So: how do we feel when faced with the joy, the colour, the vital energy of an artist we risk perceiving as “different”? How capable are we of evaluating his work for what it is, instead of being caught by sentimentality or prejudice? It is very easy to slip into stock phrases or to classify him as an “autistic artist.”

Tommaso Panichi’s production is immense because it follows him through every moment of his life: selecting his works was the first “How are you?” I had to ask myself. What do my gut, my eye, my mind say in front of his works? Is my mind open enough to smile with him?

For this reason, I decided to address the same question to you, turning it into the title of the exhibition: because neurodivergence, autism, have as many nuances as the colours of the sky, and it is impossible to confine them within a predefined frame. Tommaso speaks to us, tells us about himself; he has no doubts about art as the primary medium of his expressive and human potential. He is perfectly at ease with brushes in hand — he is not the problem. The issue is our gaze: how willing are we to free ourselves from our mental schemes in order to truly see his work?

From Wednesday 21 October to Saturday 7 November, curated by Penelope Filacchione and Chiara Domenici.