At the monumental Baths of Diocletian in Rome, a powerful encounter between past and present takes shape in Metamorphoses, the first Italian museum exhibition by Chinese artist Wu Jian’an. Installed across halls of the Baths of Diocletian within the National Roman Museum, the show invites visitors into an immersive world where materials, myths, and cultures are in constant flux.
Curated by Umberto Croppi for Fondazione Berengo, and coordinated by Giulia Cirenei from the museum, the exhibition unfolds as a journey through the artist’s multifaceted practice. From delicate hand-blown Murano glass to monumental compositions crafted through paper cutting, leather carving, and collage, Wu’s works bridge artisanal tradition and contemporary experimentation. Each piece seems to pulse with transformation, revealing an artist deeply engaged with both the physical properties of materials and the narratives they carry.
The setting itself plays a crucial role. The vast, layered architecture of the ancient baths—once a center of Roman social life—becomes a symbolic stage for Wu’s exploration of change, continuity, and reinvention. Here, Eastern and Western traditions meet not as opposites but as fluid, interwoven systems. Drawing inspiration from Metamorphoses by Ovid, with its enduring idea that “nothing retains its own form,” the artist pairs classical mythology with Taoist concepts of generative transformation, dissolving boundaries between cultures, histories, and forms.
What emerges is a dynamic visual language where myth, material, and meaning are constantly reconfigured. By juxtaposing works of different scales and techniques, Wu Jian’an not only demonstrates remarkable craftsmanship but also offers a compelling meditation on transformation itself—both as a tangible process and as a philosophical lens through which to understand a world defined by instability, change, and renewal.
Metamorphoses
A cura di | curated by Umberto Croppi
con il coordinamento di | Coordinated by Giulia Cirenei
25.03. – 17.05.2026
Museo Nazionale Romano – Terme di Diocleziano
Viale Enrico de Nicola, 78, 00185, Rome
For more information visit the museum’s website here.
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