Slasky - Relax

Gicleè Hahnemuhle 350gr + certificate of authenticity

Beware of imitations on the web; this is the original.

Relax — after Sassoferrato

This work is born from a direct dialogue with one of the most iconic images of Baroque devotion: the Madonna praying by Sassoferrato. In the original painting, the Virgin is depicted in a moment of absolute stillness, eyes lowered, hands joined, immersed in a dimension of silence and contemplation.

The contemporary intervention introduces an element foreign to that spiritual universe: a neon sign with the word “RELAX.” The artificial light, typical of urban and commercial language, bursts into the sacred scene as a new form of command.

The contrast is intentional.
On the one hand, the silent devotion of the seventeenth century, built on discipline, prayer and sacrifice. On the other hand, the mantra of contemporaneity, which turns relaxation into a cultural imperative, almost a promise of secular salvation.

The Madonna continues to pray, motionless in her eternal gesture, while above her the luminous word suggests another liturgy: that of well-being, rest, and self-consolation.

The work thus puts spirituality and pop culture, sacred and visual communication, in tension, transforming a historic image of contemplation into an ironic and critical reflection on our era.

The neon light does not profane the image:
it reactivates it, forcing us to ask what it means today to seek peace, faith or simply — relax.

« Art is not about representing new things, but about representing them with novelty »

Slasky (b. 1972, Italy) is a self-taught artist working from Artena, Rome. His practice emerged from outside
the institutional art system — a background in manual labour that informs both the materiality of his work and
the precision of its conceptual framework. Active since 2015, he has built an independent market presence
across Europe and Asia before undertaking a decisive shift toward institutional research practice.


Selected Exhibitions (2015 — 2026)

Institutional highlight: Long Live Rembrandt, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, 2026. Work selected by the museum
jury from thousands of international submissions for exhibition within the museum's permanent collection
spaces. 15 July — 15 September 2019.

2026

* CI-AO
30 April - 28 May 2026
Via Del Vantaggio 28, Rome
Piazza del Popolo

* FACE2FACE
Laundry Studios · 5 – 9 March 2026

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2025

* Tokyo Open Art | Art on Loop Exhibition
Tokyo · 12 – 16 September 2025
* Art Parallax
London · 15 – 16 February 2025

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2024

* Waterloo — Solo Exhibition
Limassol · 10 – 20 December 2024
* ARTLAB 2024
Munich · 13 – 22 June 2024
* Must Be — Solo Exhibition
Anemi, Limassol · 3 – 10 February 2024
* Contemporary Venice 2024 — 13th Edition — Solo Exhibition
Venice · 12 – 15 January 2024

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2023

* Time Is An Illusion / Le temps est une illusion
Kramfors · 2 – 23 October 2023

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2022

* (UN)FAIR — (UN)DISCOVERED ART
Superstudio Maxi, Milan · 8 – 10 April 2022

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2021

* MIA Fair 2021
Superstudio Maxi, Milan · 7 – 10 October 2021
* Lausanne Art Fair
Lausanne · 30 September – 3 October 2021
* Lille Art Up!
Lille Grand Palais · 24 – 27 June 2021
* Works on Paper
Antibes · 18 March – 21 April 2021

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2020

* StreetArt // UrbanArt
Tozzo Atelier · 8 – 30 October 2020
* Work on Paper
Stockholm · 18 March – 21 April 2020

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2019

* Long Live Rembrandt ★ — Jury Selection
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam · 15 July – 15 September 2019
* Wopart Art Fair
Lugano · 19 – 22 September 2019
* Andy Warhol Exhibition — Group Show
· 14 April – 23 September 2019

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2018

* Neo Urban Classic — Solo Exhibition
MGallery by Sofitel, Kaluga · 16 March 2018
* Anti Donald Trump
Creative Debuts, London · 12 – 18 July 2018

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2016

* Arte Firenze — Sandro Botticelli International Contemporary Art Prize
Florence · 18 – 20 November 2016
* Twitter Art Exhibition
Trygve Lie Gallery · 31 March – 21 April 2016

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2015

* HUMAN RIGHTS? — La Casa della Pace
Fondazione Opera Campana dei Caduti, Rovereto · 31 May – 30 August 2015