New opening as part of the Ravenna Mosaic Biennale from October 18, 2025, to January 18, 2026 – free entry on October 18 and 19 from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m., then on weekends until January 18 by reservation via email: marteassociazione.cult@gmail.com or by phone: +39 3315006266.
Exhibition showcasing the outcomes of the residency in Ravenna (Italy) as part of the Particelle | Artistic Residencies program by the Marte association, held at the CaCO3 studio.
The exhibition will take place in the former Cappella di San Giovanni Decollato, Piazza Unità d’Italia in Ravenna on March 7, 8, and 9.
PRESS RELEASE
Tout y parlerait / À l’âme en secret is the title of the solo exhibition by French artist Clément Mitéran (Wissous, 1984), organized and curated by Marte. It is installed in the presumed Chapel of San Giovanni Decollato, located on Piazza Unità d’Italia in Ravenna. The exhibition is a presentation of the second edition of Marte’s Particelle | Artistic Residencies project and will be open to the public for free from March 7 to 9, 2025. On March 7, access will be by invitation, while on March 8 and 9, reservations are required. The exhibition is intended to be visited individually and will be illuminated solely by candlelight.
Clément Mitéran lives and works in Wissous, Essonne, France. His artistic research is dedicated to portraiture, which he explores through its possibilities of representation, reception, and ultimately, existence in contemporary times. Mosaic and photographic materials merge in his practice, interrogating the relationship between subject and portrait, reality and representation, and reality and imagination through philosophy and the study of figurative art. The interplay between mosaic technique and photography results in delicate yet profound works, created by cutting white smalte tesserae and developing negatives directly on the photosensitive mosaic surface.
The five new works presented in Tout y parlerait / À l’âme en secret, a title drawn from Baudelaire’s poem L’invitation au voyage, are part of a new project in which Mitéran reflects on the myth of Butades as recounted by Pliny (who describes the birth of painting through shadows) and considers the possibility of a “living double of the individual, an immaterial memory that persists” (Clément Mitéran). In Mitéran’s reflection, the shadow becomes a projection, mediating between the material presence of a portrait and the memory of a person. The artist continues to explore the potentials of portraiture using marble and white gold; for the first time, he also employs the photographic technique of chimigram, a method that uses light directly on a photosensitive emulsion without a negative or camera, combined with developing and fixing liquids. “Photography, by its fragile and ephemeral nature, contrasts with the permanence and strong materiality of mosaic. The choice of these media highlights an intrinsic tension in the portrait, attempting to fix a fleeting moment in a durable form” (ibid.).
During the Particelle residency, Mitéran created two mosaics using the Ravenna technique, following the direct method on a temporary support. This was made possible thanks to the essential support of the CaCO₃ mosaic studio, composed of Âniko Ferreira da Silva (Ravenna, 1976), Giuseppe Donnaloia (Martina Franca, 1976), and Pavlos Mavromatidis (Kavala, Greece, 1979), who has worked in Ravenna since 2006. Collaboration with students from the Ravenna Academy of Fine Arts: Roberta Casadei, Cecilia De Carlo, Veronica Di Felice, and Samuela Cottignoli, was also highly valuable.
The presumed Chapel of San Giovanni Decollato was chosen as the historical site for Tout y parlerait / À l’âme en secret. Located in central Ravenna, the church was built around 1190 under Archbishop Giulio. From 1614 to 1798, it housed the Confraternity of Mercy or the Company of the Good Death, whose mission was to comfort prisoners before execution. The Legate Palace on Piazza del Popolo was fully restored around 1690, and the church was reduced to a chapel. The building was later removed by the French under Napoleon, and in the early 19th century, it was definitively incorporated into the Prefecture Palace. Marte reopens the presumed Chapel of San Giovanni Decollato, closed to the public since 2019, for Clément Mitéran’s exhibition. The works, designed to be viewed individually under low light, integrate seamlessly into this historically rich and mysterious environment.
The second Particelle | Artistic Residencies project reflects Marte’s desire to host national and international artists, with a focus on the contemporary mosaic scene, creating shared narratives that explore new perspectives on Ravenna and its contemporary art scene. Marte aims to foster an original exploration of the city through cultural exchange with its urban fabric and community.
The project is realized with the support of the Municipality of Ravenna – Department of Culture, within the framework of the collaboration agreement between the Department of Youth Policies and the Universal Civil Service, and the Emilia-Romagna Region – FPG 2023 – Intesa 202/CU/2023.
We thank the Municipality of Ravenna, the Emilia-Romagna Region, the Urban Planning Department and Heritage Service of the Municipality of Ravenna, the Ravenna Academy of Fine Arts, and ARCI Ravenna.