A live drawing performance will present “Le Veneri di Tommy”, a triptych that marks a new creative trajectory for neurodivergent artist Tommy Nicoletti. For the first time, Nicoletti approaches the female nude, drawing inspiration from the works of Botticelli, Matisse, Schiele, and Botero. The result is a personal reinvention, where six nude female figures are transformed through his unmistakable hypercubist aesthetic.

Damiana Ardito — visual performer, singer, burlesque artist, and charismatic model of Rome’s life-drawing scene — brings Tommy’s visions to life in their plastic carnality, engaging in a play of mirrors with that “aesthetic deformation” which opens up an additional dimension, beyond the human prototype that inspired the great masters of the past.

The event stems from the collaboration with La Conventicola degli ULTRAMODERNI and will be accompanied by an original multimedia show combining visual arts, live music, and variety performance.

The Performance

·       Two 45-minute sessions with live poses (inspired by the Veneri di Tommy and the referenced artworks)

·       Musical accompaniment by Sior Mirkaccio Dettori, who will reinterpret early 20th-century Italian popular songs, with a focus on the representation of women in love songs

·       The audience will enjoy moments of variety alternated with drawing sessions

·       Artists who wish to enter the drawing raffle are invited to bring their own materials

·       Participation is free, limited to 25 seats to allow access to the general public

The Protagonists

·       Damiana Ardito (Rose Sélavy): acclaimed performer, burlesque artist, and singer with La Conventicola degli ULTRAMODERNI. She collaborates with schools and artistic collectives in Rome, working both as a visual artist and a professional model. Since childhood, she has dreamed of becoming a muse for other artists, weaving her performer’s craft with an ongoing search for poses, costumes, and atmospheres that nurture artistic sharing and expression.

·       Sior Mirkaccio (Mirko Dettori): musician and showman of the ULTRAMODERNI scene, co-founder (together with Madame De Freitas) of La Conventicola degli ULTRAMODERNI, a laboratory of variety and music that celebrates the history of Italian entertainment while opening up new opportunities for emerging talents through its School of Variety and Burlesque.

For the third consecutive year, the Fondazione Cervelli Ribelli brings to Rome Art Week the artistic contribution of this duo and the vibrant world of the Conventicola, in an evening that celebrates the dialogue between visual art, music, and live performance.