foundations of my practice
My work revolves around themes such as power, identity, and the search for belonging. It originates in structures: not just physical architecture, but conceptual frameworks that shape how we inhabit the world. I am interested in the tensions between inside and outside, form and void, and the ways in which space exerts power over both body and mind.
I approach these questions through a philosophical lens, particularly German existentialism and phenomenology, where Heidegger’s concept of being-in-the-world informs my understanding of presence and dwelling. Equally central is the influence of French post-structuralist thought, especially Michel Foucault, whose critique of institutions and invisible systems continues to shape my inquiries.
My practice exists at the intersection of architecture, memory, and the internal experience of space. I work with drawing, installation, and mixed media to interrogate how environments (whether domestic, institutional, or imagined), reflect and construct identity.
Whether these philosophical threads are overt or latent in my visual language, they remain integral to how I understand form, space, and meaning. My pieces often remain in flux, interweaving with one another, ultimately speaking only of themselves and their own existence, returning, again and again, to the same essential question. A question that, by design, can never be fully answered.
current work and new explorations
Since early 2025, my practice has shifted toward a more organic, instinctive visual language. Where previous work leaned on geometry and structure, I now find myself drawn to gestural marks, floral shapes, bodily forms, and the raw materiality of stain, texture, and repetition.
This new body of work arises from a need to reclaim emotional and psychological space, not as something external, but as something lived and felt. The compositions explore themes of motherhood (observed and missed), memory, identity, and transformation, often evoking cycles of decay and rebirth. Beauty and ugliness coexist in delicate balance, with elements that resemble both calligraphy and chaos.
Though less architectural in form, these works are still concerned with space, but now it’s the space within: the terrain of the self, marked by guilt, family dynamics, longing, and the persistence of presence.
The intuitive gestures in this phase reflect an ongoing interest in how art can function as a survival mechanism, a way to build a personal archive of experience, cultural background, and emotion. It becomes a way of navigating being, becoming, and belonging.
federica beretta 