by InTrieste
Alessandra Spigai, the elusive and multidisciplinary artist known for her hauntingly expressive sculptures and paintings, is stepping out from her usual reclusive life with a new exhibition in her hometown of Trieste. The show, titled “Souls in Command,” opens Thursday, November 14, at her atelier on Via Rossetti, where visitors are invited to experience a journey of inner revelation, an artistic odyssey that spans a lifetime.
Spigai’s works, thirteen oil paintings and three sculptures—one bronze and two in terracotta—will be on display daily from 4 to 8 PM until December 6. At the heart of the exhibition lies a mysterious figure from 1970s Italian popular culture, a hidden “giant” that is only now emerging from decades of Spigai’s creative process, transformed in new forms for contemporary viewers.
A painter and sculptor by trade but a storyteller at heart, Spigai considers these works her most intimate to date, tracing what she calls a “cathartic” process, one that has paralleled her own life journey. “Art for me has been a personal path to understanding,” Spigai says. “And this giant, this figure who has guided me since childhood, is my bridge to connect deeply with those who encounter my work.”
The art of “Souls in Command” is not merely a presentation but an invitation—visitors are urged to engage with the symbolic elements that populate Spigai’s canvases and sculptures. Small birds and medicinal plants share space with anatomical symbols, each emblematic of both discovery and introspection. Doors—a repeated theme—appear on the forehead and chest of her giant figure, portals opening into layers of the self. Spigai believes that if the viewer is willing to “plunge into the darkness” alongside her, these doorways might reveal hidden pathways that are universal in the human psyche.
Influences from the Russian mystic philosopher Georges Ivanovič Gurdjieff emerge subtly in Spigai’s work, although they are not overtly stated. Gurdjieff’s ideas about consciousness and spiritual evolution seem to resonate with the artist, who has kept herself detached from the digital world, preferring an “analog” approach to life and creation.
This separation from the digital world has, for Spigai, cultivated a deeper personal connection with her work, which she has typically shared with the world sparingly. In the Trieste arts scene, Spigai is somewhat of a paradox—rarely seen yet revered, intensely introspective yet communicative through her intense, tactile works. “Souls in Command” marks her first exhibition in years and brings an unusual boldness in its themes of transformation, humanity, and technology. Here, she explores technology not as an end in itself but as a tool that illuminates primal truths.
“To me, art speaks of our spiritual and existential identity. I’m always searching for the deeper meanings of life,” Spigai said in her atelier, its walls crowded with sketches and sculptures in various stages of completion. “These works aren’t about escaping the self but delving deeper within it.”
A striking feature of her latest works is the mix of awe and trepidation, sensations that blend together to form a kind of universal language. Her creative process reflects the struggle of personal evolution, the thrill of confronting internal limits, and the magic of what lies beyond them. Her style—described by critics as “transformative and visionary”—is underscored by raw, tactile forms that invite viewers to feel as much as see.
Spigai’s artistic journey has taken her through multiple disciplines, from graphic design and writing to photography and sculpture. In 2017, she founded ArTS, a cultural association to promote artistic exchanges among people from different cultures and backgrounds. Her works have been showcased in Paris, Milan, Brussels, and Venice, but it is her connection to Trieste that brings her full circle. She speaks of her latest exhibition as if it were a personal revelation: “I am showing my art, but I am also revealing myself, my life, my truths.”
As she welcomes viewers into her inner world, Spigai offers no easy answers—only questions that resonate universally with those who take the time to contemplate. For art lovers in Trieste and beyond, “Souls in Command” is a rare invitation into the mind of a creative giant, one who has crafted her own mythos and meaning in a world that often rushes past its most profound mysteries.
For more information on Alessandra Spigai and her exhibition, visit www.spigai.eu.
