GIUDITTA BRANCONI

In her latest body of work, Branconi focuses on the male figure, offering a nuanced portrayal of masculinity. Inspired by personal moments with her father and brother, _Fragile_invites viewers to reflect on contemporary notions of gender, strength and vulnerability, exploring manhood through a lens of tenderness and introspection.

Branconi’s conscious shift towards male subjects is a marked change from her previous interest in the historical constructs of femininity and beauty. Her use of the tondo (circular) format for works such as Ricordarsi di non giocare con gli uccelli (2025) and Come essere un coniglio (2025) challenges the conventions of portraiture, allowing her to redefine the way figures are framed and perceived. In Ninfette (2025), Branconi offers a poetic reimagining of the myth of Diana and Actaeon – instead of the hunter Actaeon being punished and transformed into a stag by the goddess Diana, he holds a fawn in a tender embrace.

Painting on both sides of the canvas, Branconi harnesses the interplay of opacity and transparency. She applies handmade oil paint to one side of the finely woven, transparent linen, allowing it to soak through the fabric. As the pigment becomes visible on the reverse, she fills in elements and builds up layers of her composition. ‘The materials I use are more responsive than regular canvas – they react to light almost like skin or glass’, says Branconi. ‘That unpredictability makes the process even more engaging for me.’ The resulting works are reminiscent of stained glass, their appearance shifting and transforming with the light.