Presence - Absence. Rome Edition

Artist list

Sophie Beer, Eugenia Feroussi, Paolo Gambarelli, May Gañán, Jessica Grespi, Elli Hukka, Hanna Kivelä, Monique Lecouna, Luisa Mucedola, Cova Ríos, Isabel Sabato, Suzanne Maris Santos, Barbara Schwager, Tanel Veenre, Marie Wolf, Cathérine Zibo

Synergy Calls – Rome Edition is a joint initiative connecting three distinguished galleries: Galleria Carlo Lucidi (Rome, Italy), Uni.Versus ArtRoom (Athens, Greece), and Tincal lab (Porto, Portugal). The exhibition features a curated selection of works that delve into the delicate balance between light and dark, full and empty, and the profound interplay of presence and absence. Each artist offers their unique voice and perspective, translating these fundamental human experiences into wearable art.

"This project is a unique opportunity to share perspectives, visions, and forms within a space of genuine exchange", states the Synergy Calls Team. The participating artists explore how art can act as a powerful tool to unite people, transcending cultural differences and speaking a universal language of emotion and experience.


Opening Reception: Friday, 19 September, at 18:30 at Galleria Carlo Lucidi.
This exhibition promises a powerful and intimate experience, inviting visitors to explore diverse interpretations of presence and absence through the compelling medium of contemporary jewelry.
Exhibition Dates: 20 September – 10 November 2025. It will also be viewable online until 31 December 2025.


Each artist brings a distinct approach to the theme. For instance, Luisa Mucedola (Artegeniale) explores the profound absence of a mother from her child’s daily life, transforming emotions into therapeutic jewelry. Catherine Zibo examines urban spaces and their connection to identity and memory, creating textile jewelry from altered photographs to expand the concept of sentimental jewelry. Cova Ríos crafts experimental pieces from recycled materials, using heavy porcelain to represent presence and light plastics for absence, aiming to raise ecological awareness. Paolo Gambarelli (Lunante) presents brooches inspired by a painting by his late brother, where an abstract mask reveals a face composed of presence (colors) and absence (darkness). May Gañán utilizes recycled Nespresso capsules to explore the idea of emptiness and its opposite, suggesting that what fills us is often immaterial. Hanna Kivelä's collection The Return narrates a healing journey from mental absence due to stress or trauma, using materials like concrete and silver to symbolize hope and reconciliation. Isabel Sabato combines non-conventional recycled materials with textile techniques in nature-inspired pieces, aiming to transform and reuse to create beauty. Jessica Grespi (JF Project) creates contemporary jewelry from upcycled zippers and inner tubes, with each piece holding memory and feeling, promoting a sustainable communication through art. Sophie Beer's Embrace series explores the physical relationship with nature through crochet pieces, reflecting on body perception and our connection to the environment. Eugenia Feroussi delves into Saudade, where love exists in the continuous interflow between presence and absence, making conceptual threads tangible through art jewelry. Suzanne Maris Santos's Masticha Collection uses steel and masticha resin to explore universal themes of displacement, nostalgia, and memory, binding past and present. Barbara Schwager challenges viewers with thought-provoking questions through her jewelry, encouraging dialogue and reflection on societal issues like food scarcity or completeness. Elli Hukka works with old printed textiles, beeswax, and wire to create wearable objects that explore what remains from the old and what it becomes, inviting conversations about art. Monique Lecouna's They Were Pearls rings symbolize the memory of lost pearls through hollowed forms, illustrating that absence is a different, powerful kind of presence. Marie Therese Wolf's ± PlusMinus series explores synergy through interaction and tension, with transparent pieces containing microparticles that shift with touch, symbolizing the dynamic interplay of dualities.