In Milan, DFB Studio presents a group exhibition spanning photography, sculpture, painting and video art, exploring the transformations of femininity through identity, the body and social conditioning. The female body has been celebrated, idealised, judged, turned into a symbol and, all too often, denied the opportunity to tell its own story. Today, as the boundaries of identity are continually being redefined, art once again questions what it means to be a woman, moving beyond preconceived definitions and conventional representations. This reflection lies at the heart of **FEMINEUM. Five Perspectives, One Essence**, a group exhibition taking place from 10 November to 15 December 2026 at DFB Studio, Via Ruggero Boscovich 14,Milan. Conceived by Daniela Ferrante Bernasconi and curated by Francesco “DEMO” De Molfetta, the exhibition brings together five artists — Nicola Biondani, Marco Circhirillo, Giulia Filippi, Federico Lombardo and Nico Mingozzi — with the special participation of Flavia Vago. The project stems from a fundamental observation: contemporary femininity can no longer be reduced to a single, reassuring image. Cultural transformations, social expectations, and individual and collective traumas have contributed to fragmenting a representation that, for centuries, was shaped through the gaze of others. “FEMINEUM was born out of an awareness of the complexity of femininity, ” explains Daniela Ferrante Bernasconi, “a femininity that is multifaceted and shaped by external perceptions. With this project, I did not set out to find answers, but rather to free the narrative of femininity, entrusting the artists with the task of embracing this fragmentation and transforming it into a new, powerful form of truth. ”

The exhibition approaches this fragmentation not as an irreversible loss, but as an opportunity for a new form of reconstruction. Each artist explores a different aspect of the subject through distinct artistic languages and sensibilities that do not necessarily seek a synthesis, but instead recognise plurality as an essential element of identity. Photography, employed both as an independent artistic medium and as a means of manipulating and reworking images, enters into dialogue with sculpture, painting and video art. The resulting exhibition explores representations of the body, self-perception, aesthetic conventions and the mechanisms through which society constructs and conditions the female image. “Contemporary femininity appears fragmented, deconstructed and marked by contradictions that make it impossible to reduce it to a single model, ” observes Francesco “DEMO” De Molfetta “With FEMINEUM, we wanted to bring together different artistic practices capable of symbolically reassembling these fragments without erasing their differences. Our aim is not to establish a definitive definition of femininity, but to broaden the scope of reflection, allowing the artworks themselves to challenge our assumptions. ”

The selected works offer different interpretations of this complexity. In Giulia Filippi's photographs, the body becomes the site of an intense confrontation with social expectations. Through images constructed using a direct visual language, at times ironic and unsettling, the artist addresses the pressure to conform to imposed models, transforming seemingly everyday gestures and situations into expressions of discomfort, resistance and self-awareness. Marco Circhirillo explores identity through the fragmentation and multiplication of images. The female face loses its apparent stability, breaking apart and reassembling itself, suggesting the extent to which individual perception is influenced by the multiplicity of external gazes. The photographic practice of Nico Mingozzi, represented by Art Consulting Glenda Cinquegrana, introduces a reflection on the representation of the body and the processes involved in constructing an image. Through collage, the artist disrupts the continuity of the figure, creating visual disjunctions that question the relationship between identity, appearance and perception. Nicola Biondani's sculptures propose a different relationship with the human figure. Made from terracotta, his works evoke highly expressive presences in which gesture, posture and material play a decisive role in shaping meaning. Completing the exhibition is the work of Federico Lombardo, whose artistic research focuses on the human figure and, in particular, the face, explored as the expression of a fragile, shifting identity that resists easy definition. His painting combines references to classical iconography with contemporary experimentation, establishing a dialogue between traditional techniques and digital languages. In his female portraits, often characterised by an apparent emotional stillness, beauty moves beyond idealisation to become an opportunity to reflect on self-perception, the ambiguity of images and the relationship between reality and representation. The special participation of Flavia Vago introduces an additional interpretative dimension, in which the body becomes a vehicle for expression and presence, further expanding the exploration of the many forms of femininity. FEMINEUM therefore rejects the notion that it is possible, or even desirable, to prescribe what a woman should be today. Instead, through five artistic perspectives and a special contribution, the exhibition invites viewers to consider identity as a complex, evolving reality that resists any definitive categorisation. The exhibition forms part of DFB Studio's programme, dedicated to promoting emerging talent and encouraging experimentation across different artistic disciplines, under the creative direction of Daniela Ferrante Bernasconi and Francesco “DEMO” De Molfetta. A. “With FEMINEUM, we wanted to bring together different artistic practices capable of symbolically