Drawing divine femininity
Italian artist celebrates womanhood and shared spiritual identity in ongoing exhibitionAn invocation is an act in which one appeals to a higher being for support and inspiration. Italian artist Sara Guberti set out to do just that with her ongoing exhibition Invocation to the Goddesses at Siddhartha Art Gallery, exploring themes of womanhood and divine femininity.
Guberti trained in the mosaic medium at the Gino Severini School in Ravenna, Italy, before getting a degree in art at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna. While her usual medium is Byzantine tile work, she has tried out a new medium, acrylic on canvas, for this exhibition.
Guberti explains this choice: “Each piece is a simple invitation, acrylic on canvas using only three colors: red, black, and white.”
She has exhibited in both group and solo showcases across Italy, Europe, and India before arriving in Nepal. Guberti traveled across the world seeking inspiration for her work, encountering women from many different cultures. Throughout her journey, she asked the women to write a message, or simply the name of a goddess in their own culture, inviting them to call upon these figures and embrace the power of femininity.
Spread out across the two floors of the gallery are portraits of different goddesses spanning cultures and religions, surrounded by paintings of flowers. Each goddess’s portrait is paired with a different type of flower, from the lotus to the rose, representing a divine offering.
In her titular piece, Guberti incorporated the messages she collected from the women she met along her travels, featuring writing in Newari, Sanskrit, Urdu, French, Italian, English, and Hindi.
Many of her portraits are simply titled the name of the goddess depicted: Laxmi, the Virgin Mary, and Saraswati.
One portrait, however, has a different title, Mater semper certa est, an ancient Roman principle that directly translates to the phrase ‘the mother is always certain’. The portrait features a powerful female figure with her arms curled inward toward her womb, signifying the undeniable truth of her fertility. A halo radiating around her and a crown above her reinforces her sanctity and power.
WOMEN AND POWER
Guberti chose this portrait as the promotional image of the exhibition. It was the right choice because it represents the core message of her work: that women are undeniably powerful.
Guberti’s clear celebration of femininity and shared spiritual identity stands out, creating a space that feels both personal and collective. The exhibition invites reflection not only on shared expressions of devotion, but on what it means to celebrate femininity in this modern age.
However, this exhibit is not just calling on women to embrace their power, but for men to recognise it too. “This also serves as a call to action for men to embrace femininity in the world,” Guberti explains. For her, this not only means uplifting women, but also embracing what she calls “feminine qualities” such as compassion and empathy.
All audiences should feel invited to visit this exhibition, perhaps with their own invocation in mind.
Invocation To The Goddesses
Siddhartha Art Gallery
Baber Mahal Revisited
Until 30 April
11AM - 5PM, Sunday to Friday
12PM - 5PM, Saturday
