Size Matters: Imago Mundi’s Collection of Small, Great Art

Imago Mundi is a democratic, collective and global project that looks to new horizons – to personalities, countries, emerging languages and different cultures – in the name of openness, coming together and the coexistence of expressive diversities. Its social ambition is to promote a knowledge and awareness of art and, through this art, of the world.

The thousands of 10x12cm paintings that make up the collection form a map that crosses the continents and presents very different countries: from a tormented Afghanistan to post-Mandela South Africa, from a Cuba opening itself to reform to cultured Iceland, from Romania, the laboratory of Europe, to China on its way to becoming the world’s leading economic power. And then the surprising Azerbaijan, the infinite Mongolia, refined Japan and the vibrant India in full artistic and social bloom.

Over the next few years, the numerous collections will be taken on a tour without frontiers to present them to the widest possible number of people, through exhibitions, catalogues and a dedicated web platform, in collaboration with private institutions, international organizations and public museums.

Promotion of the project and of the artists involved continues online at the Imago Mundi web platform which – in the founding spirit of the Luciano Benetton Collection: to catalogue, share, pass down to future generations the thousands of 10x12cm artworks – enables all the Imago Mundi collections to be viewed online in digital quality, as well providing as a variety of other information about the artists involved in the different countries and news of available catalogues and exhibitions around the world.In particular, Imago Mundi has participated in two important international events: the Venice Biennale in 2013 and Dak’Art Off in 2014, in the context of the XI edition of the Biennial of Contemporary African Art in Dakar.

9 July – 3 August
Eleven collections of 10x12cm paintings from 10 different countries in the world. 2,000 works by contemporary artists: an encyclopaedia of global art, a great atlas of the world and humanity.
Casa dei Carraresi, Via Palestro 33 / 38, Treviso, Italy

19 November – 11 January 2015
Organised at the Museo Carlo Bilotti in Villa Borghese, this exhibition will present over 15 collections – all from Africa – in the context of a series of initiatives promoted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs that will feed into the global Italy–Africa conference of 2015.
Museo Carlo Bilotti, Viale Fiorello la Guardia, 6, Rome, Italy
Based on materials provided by Luciano Benetton Collection.