Valerio Berruti at the Royal Palace: "Rediscovering childhood. To take action."

"The carousel is a metaphor to tell spectators 'live this day as if you were a child,' but with many more possibilities than a child in Gaza, so act... hope is action, and art is action. I have the opportunity to speak using the means that are most congenial to me." Valerio Berruti thus presents his first solo exhibition at Palazzo Reale , More than Kids (until November 2, produced by the Municipality of Milan and Arthemisia with the support of the Ferrero Foundation). "I am deeply honored. Each work is site-specific, designed for these environments. I put my heart into this project, and I hope visitors perceive it."

The journey through Berruti's poetics begins, immersed in the darkness of the room, with A Safe Place , a gigantic lifebelt bobbing in the sea, an object that can be playful for the more fortunate children, and the last hope for those crossing the Mediterranean in search of a better future. Monumental sculptures , installations, videos, and then we arrive at the carousel on which visitors are invited to rediscover the "wonder" of a time like childhood—a time when anything can still happen—but also to touch the chords of individual sensibilities and reflect on universal themes.

The artist, explains curator Nicolas Ballario, "forces us to confront the great themes of contemporary life: climate change, war, violence, migration." "It's not an exhibition about childhood," the artist emphasizes, "because the faces of my children already have adult features." His children, in fact, "are collective symbols, of what we have been but also of a possible future yet to be written." Like In the Name of the Father , many little "warriors," each representing one of the ongoing conflicts: they look at a little girl who seems to be leading a weary army, to which she, heartbroken, refuses to give orders.

The exhibition features previously unseen works , presented for the first time in Milan, such as the large carousel sculpture with music composed by Ludovico Einaudi, “La giostra di Nina,” and “Don't let me be wrong ,” the large sculpture installed in the courtyard of the Palazzo Reale with music by Daddy G of Massive Attack. Two new video animations are also on display: “Lilith,” with a soundtrack by Rodrigo D'Erasmo, and “Cercare silenzio,” featuring the sound of Samuel Romano, the legendary vocalist of Subsonica.

"The monumentality of the works tells us we can't turn a blind eye. Anyone who looks away is complicit." "Enough with watching what's happening with indifference, and then we'll change the channel," urges Berruti. Born in Alba in 1977, he was one of the youngest participants in the 53rd Venice Biennale in 2009, presenting a video featuring 600 fresco drawings, set to music by Paolo Conte.