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ART CUT '26

Exercises in Empathy: Spiritual Machines

6 October - 20 November, Milan, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore

ArtCut 2026 – Exercises in Empathy: Spiritual Machines is the first edition of the Catholic Universities Triennial of Contemporary Art, conceived by Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça and curated by Nuno Crespo.

A major international project involving universities, artists and curators from different countries and continents, created to explore the theme of empathy through art: the ability to relate to others, to listen, to look at the world from different perspectives. 

The Italian stage of the project, entitled Spiritual Machines, brings this reflection to the historic spaces of Università Cattolica, through the works of Orla Barry, Rui Chafes, Rodrigo Cass and Gian Maria Tosatti. Sculptures, videos, sounds and environmental installations dialogue with the Bramante cloisters and the twentieth-century architecture of the campus, transforming places of university life into spaces for experience, listening and contemplation.

The title stems from a question that runs through the entire exhibition: what space is left today for interiority, relationship and the spiritual dimension, in a world increasingly mediated by technology?

The works invite you to slow down, observe, listen. Iron can seem to lose its weight, geometry to become a sensible experience, sound to open an inner space, light and shadow to transform the perception of a known place.

More than a path to be observed from a distance, Spiritual Machines is an invitation to experience art and the spaces of the University in a new way: an exercise in attention and empathy.

Helpful Resources

 

 

Artists

ORLA BARRY

Orla Barry is an Irish artist, born in Wexford in 1969. After living for sixteen years in Brussels, she returned to the Wexford countryside on the south-east coast of Ireland, where she currently lives and runs a Lleyn sheep farm

RODRIGO CASS

Rodrigo Cass was born in São Paulo, Brazil in 1983, the city where he lived and worked until his death in 2026. He trained in Visual Arts at the Faculdade Santa Marcelina and also studied Philosophy and Theology at the Faculdade Jesuíta in Belo Horizonte...

RUI CHAFES

Rui Chafes was born in 1966 in Lisbon, the city where he currently lives and works. Here he trained as a sculptor at the Faculdade de Belas Artes, graduating in 1989. From 1990 to 1992 he studied at the Kunstakademie in Düsseldorf...

GIAN MARIA TOSATTI

Gian Maria Tosatti (Rome, 1980) is an Italian visual artist, journalist and essayist. His training took place in the field of performance, initially at the Center for Experimentation and Theatrical Research in Pontedera (Pisa), at the same time a place of production...

Works

  • Rodrigo Cass
    Primal Chaos, Love
    2026, Cement, pigment and tempera on linen/ Concrete, pigment and tempera on linen, 66 x 73 x 3 cm
  • RUI CHAFES
    Cinza
    2000, steel/iron; 714 x 280 x 280 cm; Col. Peter Meeker (Depósito na Fundação Serralves, Porto
  • Rodrigo Cass
    American Civilization
    2012 Video and audio projection; cement, glass, book, wood on paper ; 47 x 36 x 9 cm. Video: 8'53" · Projection area: 100 x 65 cm
  • RUI CHAFES
    Lua exausta
    2000, steel/ iron; 230 x 60 x 80 cm; Colec. José Lobo de Vasconcelos
  • Rodrigo Cass
    Amorous Mysticism
    Video projection on gold plated brass and tempera on Wood, audio. Video: 11'22" ·
  • RUI CHAFES & ORLA BARRY
    Not said
    2001, Iron sound installation, photography; 210 x 79 x 108 cm; CACE State Contemporary Art Collection Cascais, Portugal
  • Rodrigo Cass
    Milk Offering, Milk Boy
    2024, Video projection and audio over tempera on linen and acrylic/ Video projection on tempera on linen, acrylic, audio Escultura: 87 x 127 x 36 cm. Video: 12'33'' · Área projeção: 78 x 104
  • RUI CHAFES
    Quero tudo de ti
    Heavy yet seemingly immaterial, Chafes's Iron sculpture takes on the quality of an organic presence, suspended between body and abstraction. The fluid and sinuous forms of the work suggest a living presence reaching towards another body.
  • Rodrigo Cass
    Revolução do ar
    2026, Cement, white cement and tempera on linen./ Concrete, white concrete and tempera on linen 73 × 80 × 4 cm.
  • Rodrigo Cass
    Revolução Sensível
    2026 Cement, pigment and tempera on linen/ Concrete, pigment and tempera on linen; 89 x 87 x 3 cm

Guided tours

In October and November 2026, it will be possible to participate in guided tours of the exhibition Exercises in Empathy: Spiritual Machines.
Click below for information and reservations.

  • The meeting is scheduled at the time indicated for the visit at the reception of the entrance of Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, in Largo A. Gemelli 1, Milan.
  • The visit lasts approximately 90 minutes and is conducted by the students of the University.
  • Participation is free.
  • The exhibition spaces are also accessible to people with reduced mobility.

Booking information

  • Groups will consist of a maximum of 25 participants.
  • Through the form it is possible to make, with a single name, the reservation for a maximum of 5 people.
  • After filling out the form, your names will be added directly to the list without sending a confirmation email.
  • Registration closes at 18.00 on the day before the visit. If the maximum number of participants is reached before this deadline, the form will be closed early.
  • Reservations are required subject to availability.

Calendar of visits

Guided tours will take place once a week in the late afternoon, according to the available calendar.

For organized groups, schools, associations or other entities interested in a dedicated visit, it is possible to agree on dates and methods by writing to the e-mail address: info.artcut2026@unicatt.it

 

Educational Activities

Discover the aesthetic education programmes designed to introduce children, young people and adults to the artworks.

You can download the aesthetic education programme sheets for the Exercises in Empathy: Spiritual Machines exhibition and book the activities by writing to the email address provided.

Filename
Proposte_attività_didattiche_Spiritual_Machines.pdf
Size
190 KB
Format
application/pdf
Download the aesthetic education programme sheets