For her fourth solo exhibition with the gallery, Accord, the American artist Barbara Bloom presents a new body of works created especially for the space at Via Stradella 7. This project stems from a reflection on the concept of “accord” as a pivotal moment where tensions are suspended and a glimpse of harmony becomes possible.

With her unique approach, intertwining visual storytelling and multi-layered meanings, Bloom invites the viewer to explore narratives of human connection, spanning time and dimension. The exhibition centers around images of historical places where accords, treaties, alliances, and truces took place, as well as moments of cultural and symbolic collaborations. These events are ones where individuals gathered, overcoming personal interests, and worked together to create synergies and possibilities.

The exhibition starts with the oldest documented peace treaty, signed in 1250 BC between the Egyptians and the Hittites, and moves through historical moments such as the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, which ended World War I, and the 1993 negotiations to end South African Apartheid. However, Bloom does not confine herself to documented history: the exhibition also includes moments of pure imagination, such as an unlikely gathering of iconic figures from the past and present – Jesus, Émile Zola, Nefertiti, and Amy Winehouse – seated around a gaming table. The imagined conversations suggest how accord and harmony remain universal aspirations, even in the most improbable contexts.