Please note that the Caetani Centre main house and residency space is closed during January and February due to construction. Residencies will resume in the spring. 

Please check availability before making your booking.

11. SPONSORED!
Thank you to Maria Besso PREC*
THE TREE BENEATH THE ROOT 

Section: IV: LE MORTE STAGIONI 
132 x 86.5 (L x W)

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The Tree of Life of the mystic Jewish discipline, Kabbalah, represents the spheres through which God is manifest in the world — the uppermost sphere is the nearest to God from which all others flow downwards towards the sphere of actual manifestation. Sveva’s interpretation of this concept intentionally reverses this order, placing God as the deepest root and grounding from which all life becomes, echoing the upwards growth of the plant kingdom. This is represented as the white light at the base of the root working its way upwards through the other spheres before emanating at the surface through the tree.

Portrayed at the core of the root are the artist’s loved companions who had passed away and are connected to her looking on them from above by a thin, red trail of paint. As curiously-minded and deep-thinking as she was, Sveva imparted incredible creativity and skill to her interpretations of mythologies, religions, and ideas — often creating something of a new philosophy in itself.