Martina Zanin
EVERY CARESS, A BLOW
February 19 – April 18, 2026
With EVERY CARESS, A BLOW, the collaboration between Nashira Gallery and Martina Zanin begins. On Wednesday, February 18, 2026, the Fondazione Pastificio Cerere presented in Rome the artist’s solo exhibition, curated by Antonio Grulli, in which Nashira Gallery participated and collaborated with enthusiasm. The exhibition is open from Thursday, February 19 to Saturday, April 18, 2026, Tuesday through Saturday, from 3 p.m to 7 pm.
Rooted in a deeply autobiographical dimension, Martina Zanin’s practice investigates complex relational dynamics shaped by vulnerability, absence, memory, trauma, and power. Through a multifaceted use of media — from photography to sculpture and installation — the artist explores the subtle and ambiguous boundary between care and control, affection and dominance, revealing how body and identity are formed within affective relationships marked by forces that are often invisible yet persistent.
EVERY CARESS, A BLOW unfolds as an immersive journey that invites viewers to dwell within a space of tension, where protection and possession coexist. Central to Zanin’s research is the relationship between human and animal, particularly the prey/predator dynamic, evoked through symbolic and totemic figures such as the hawk and the hare — metaphors for instinct, ferocity, and vulnerability. The works emerge at the intersection of psychology, ethology, spirituality, and personal experience, giving shape to a system of images, ritual gestures, and sculptural presences that permeate the entire exhibition space.
Fragmented photographs, installations, and sculptures construct a layered narrative in which power does not appear as explicit violence, but as a force embedded within bodies and relationships. The exhibition culminates in an architectural installation that conceives the body as a den — an ambivalent space of refuge and entrapment, a site of incubation and potential transformation — into which the viewer is invited to enter for an intimate and physical experience.
PRESS
Installation view Martina Zanin, EVERY CARESS, A BLOW, Fondazione Pastificio Cerere 2026. Courtesy Fondazione Pastificio Cerere, Ph: Carlo Romano
Martina Zanin, Fury (trittico), 2021, Inkjet print on Hahnemühle paper mounted on aluminum, 82×55 cm (framed). Courtesy of the Artist and Nashira Gallery. Installation view EVERY CARESS, A BLOW, Fondazione Pastificio Cerere, 2026. Courtesy of Fondazione Pastificio Cerere, Ph: Carlo Romano
Martina Zanin, Metamorphosis, 2023, Inkjet print on Hahnemühle paper mounted on aluminum, 122×82 cm (framed). Courtesy of the Artist and Nashira Gallery. Installation view EVERY CARESS, A BLOW, Fondazione Pastificio Cerere, 2026. Courtesy of Fondazione Pastificio Cerere, Ph: Carlo Romano
Martina Zanin, detail of A PREDATOR, IS A PREDATOR, IS A PREDATOR…, 2026. Bronze, 65x5x8 cm. Courtesy of the Artist and Nashira Gallery. Installation view EVERY CARESS, A BLOW, Fondazione Pastificio Cerere, 2026. Courtesy of Fondazione Pastificio Cerere, Ph: Carlo Romano
Installation view Martina Zanin, EVERY CARESS, A BLOW, Fondazione Pastificio Cerere 2026. Courtesy Fondazione Pastificio Cerere, Ph: Carlo Romano
Martina Zanin, AMBIENTI. TANE – Rabbit Hole, 2026. Leather, pipes, joints, 330x380x450 cm (dimensions variable). Courtesy of the Artist and Nashira Gallery. Installation view EVERY CARESS, A BLOW, Fondazione Pastificio Cerere, 2026. Courtesy of Fondazione Pastificio Cerere, Ph: Carlo Romano
Installation view Martina Zanin, EVERY CARESS, A BLOW, Fondazione Pastificio Cerere 2026. Courtesy Fondazione Pastificio Cerere, Ph: Carlo Romano
