Arts & Culture
“Parallel Dialogues”
From September 8th until December 31st, 2025
The concept of “Parallel Dialogues” expresses a profound key to interpreting contemporaneity:
they are “Parallel Dialogues” — all those conversations, different from one another, which follow one another along their path without ever losing their uniqueness; all those exchanges that, thanks to their closeness, are enriched but never overshadow the voice of their interlocutor. The constant proximity created by parallelism, whatever form it takes, is a symbol of respect, reciprocity, and openness. The absence of intersection, typical of parallelism, has a strong symbolic meaning: it does not signify a lack of encounter, but rather a constant exchange throughout the journey.
It is precisely in this spirit that the exhibition has been designed at Castello di Albola: the estate not only hosts an artistic dialogue — that of Blerta Xhomo & Massimo Barlettani — but also welcomes it, nurtures it, and enriches it through its own identity. Here, the works created by the two artists do not only speak for themselves, but contribute to enriching the aesthetic experience of the visitor within the place that hosts them. They are not simply objects to stumble upon, elements that spark curiosity by virtue of their “unexpected presence” in the venue, but rather vehicles that invite the viewer to go further: to discover the place and the culture it preserves with different eyes. Once again, the theme “Parallel Dialogues” expresses the conversational relationship between the works of Blerta Xhomo & Massimo Barlettani: two artists, profoundly different in their journey and artistic technique, yet equally deeply interested in capturing meaning. Within the experiential path curated by Fabio Calvetti and Armand Xhomo at Castello di Albola, the works offer visitors different visions of worlds, meanings, and subjects: distinct expressions of two creative minds that meet, each finding its own specific space, and do not clash but rather enrich each other in mutual exhibition.
Blerta Xhomo
Blerta Xhomo was born in 1968. She completed her higher education at the Academy of Fine Arts in Tirana, in the painting department, specializing in graphics, from 1987 to 1991.
Her artistic activity develops between figurative art and animated cinema.
From 1991 to 2007 she worked as a painter, animator, and director at Alba Film Studio in Tirana.
She has taken part in numerous international festivals, including the International Film Festival in Stuttgart, Germany; the Short Film Festival Ismailia in Egypt; the 13th International Panorama of Independent Filmmakers in Greece; the “Balkan Snap Short Animation Film” in Skopje; and the 42nd International Short Film Festival in Finland.
Themes centered on human nature, with all its existential struggles, have long been the core of her artistic creations. Her works aim to guide the senses toward an interpretation of pictorial space that cultivates optimism and hope, or as a strong touch of expressive lightness seeking to transform into rhythm and energy.
She has inaugurated numerous solo exhibitions and participated in several national and international exhibitions in Albania, Italy, Kosovo, and Denmark. Among the most notable are: “WARD for ART” at Palazzo Medici Riccardi in Florence, Italy; “Art and Time” Expo-Città, Milan, Italy; “AETERNUM” at the “Casa di Dante” Museum, Italy; “The Hypnotist’s Labyrinth” in Como, Italy; National Historical Museum “The Solitude of the Angel”, Tirana; “HOPE” Rovereto, Italy; “Dear Masters” at the Correggio Museum, Italy. Solo exhibition “Transcendence as the Body of the Mind” at FAB Gallery Tirana, Albania; solo exhibition “Journey” in Pristina, Kosovo; solo exhibition “Pezull” at FAB Gallery Tirana, Albania, among others.
Over her professional career, she has received numerous awards and recognitions, including First Prize as painter with the film “The Lonely Giant” at the 10th Albanian Film Festival; First Prize with the film “Great Freedom” at the 13th “International Panorama of Independent Film Festival” in Patras, Greece. She was selected among the five finalists of the international competition for the Monument to the 100th Anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Albania, in collaboration with artist Ilirian Shima. She was also awarded at the international exhibition WA/ART Contemporary Award for Art.
Massimo Barlettani
Massimo Barlettani was born in Volterra in 1956.
In 1989 he founded the advertising agency B&A.
He has won numerous creativity awards.
He worked in art publishing and, with “Zeta Scorpii Editore”, conceived and published dozens of volumes.
His continuous professional contact with international photographers and artists led him to develop a very particular sensitivity.
His artistic research has evolved from abstract painting to a figurative redefinition of iconic elements, in particular female figures and natural motifs.
Since 2012, he has been developing a research project on the theme of life and its symbolic representation through rarefied floral images.
He has exhibited in institutional venues such as Palazzo Oddo in Albenga, Ca’ dei Carraresi in Treviso, Palazzo Pretorio in Volterra, the Church of Santa Maria della Spina in Pisa, Villa Fiorentini in Sorrento, the Bevilacqua La Masa Foundation in Venice, as well as in major biennials.
In the past 10 years, he has broadened his horizons with exhibitions in London, Atlanta, Hangzhou, Toronto, Santander, as well as with continuous participation in art fairs in many countries.
For several years he collaborated with “Arte In” magazine, with a regular column titled “Il dito nella marmellata” (“The finger in the jam”), where he shared his views on the trends and contradictions of contemporary art.
The works of Massimo Barlettani are part of important public and private collections.
He lives and works in Cerreto Guidi.
Among those who have written about him are:
Roberta Bani, Francesca Bogliolo, Jacopo Chiostri, Maria Gabriella Damiani, Daniela De Lauro, Chiara Fabbri, Fabio Falone, Demetra Fanetti, Selina Fanteria, Nicol Ferrari, Riccardo Ferrucci, Susanna Gargiulo, Antonella Giovenzana, Simona Heart, Elisabetta Leporelli, Karen Lojelo, Filippo Lotti, Sara Marrucci, Anna Paola Merone, Daniela Pronestì, Isabella Mura, Roberto Milani, Laura Orlandi, Silvio Parisi, Daniela Pronestì, Ivan Quaroni, Alessandra Redaelli, Alessandro Romanini, Barbara Rossi, Rossella Savarese, Emanuela Sensi.
Arts & Culture
“Parallel Dialogues”
From September 7th to December 31st, 2025
Blerta Xhomo & Massimo Barlettani
