SEGRETE at LCG_ARTLAB: An Artistic Dialogue on Memory and Identity
Maike Freess & Claudia Virginia Vitari

To mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, Italian curator Virginia Monteverde presents SEGRETE, a series of exhibition and lectures around Europe surrounding the Shoah. She involved Berlin-based gallerist Luisa Catucci to present a powerful and thought-provoking exhibition at LCG_ARTLAB in Berlin. This unique artistic dialogue brings together the works of German artist Maike Freess and Italian artist Claudia-Virginia Vitari, underscoring the transformative power of artistic expression in commemorating history and confronting pressing contemporary societal traumas. The project at LCG_ARTLAB aims to approach SEGRETE’s themes from a broader, innovative lens.

Maike Freess’s work delves deeply into human vulnerability, examining the universal need for protection and security, juxtaposed with the often brutal realities of aggression, fear, violence, and pain. Her practice explores the formations and deformations of the human body, which becomes a site of historical inscriptions, shaped and transformed by personal, social, and political processes. Freess is particularly interested in the psychological inheritances of Nazi Germany, as these historical triggers continue to impact and scar subsequent generations, leaving traces of trauma etched into collective and individual identities.

In dialogue with Freess’s introspection, Claudia-Virginia Vitari’s Interstitial Identities represents the culmination of a decade-long artistic and theoretical investigation into identity and cultural otherness. Her project sheds light on the lived experiences of African refugees and asylum seekers, highlighting narratives of inclusion and exclusion, the concept of “total institutions,” and the disciplining of bodies. Through participatory observation and rigorous ethnographic research, Vitari captures the intersections of humanity and inhumanity, focusing on the marginalization and resilience of displaced individuals in contemporary Europe. While the experiences of these refugees do not mirror completely the Shoah, and while they may not always (but very often) pass through camps resembling historical concentration camps, many endure conditions that are profoundly dehumanizing. These camps may lack the overt horrors of gas chambers, yet they remain harrowing spaces of suffering and despair—modern-day representations of hell on earth. The traumas they inflict, though different in nature, are no less severe, even if they are largely ignored or underestimated by society.

Together, the works of Freess and Vitari create a compelling narrative that bridges historical and contemporary perspectives on memory, trauma, and identity. This exhibition invites viewers to reflect on the multifaceted legacies of war, the enduring effects of inherited trauma, and the urgent realities of displacement and marginalisation in today’s world.

The exhibition is a part of LCG_ARTLAB’s commitment to fostering intercultural and intergenerational dialogues through contemporary art.

Maike Freess is an internationally renowned German artist whose artistic exploration has, over the years, revolved around the multifaceted psychological universe of the individual. Employing a variety of techniques and forms of expression, her work is driven by personal, social, and political processes, with a particular focus on the body’s response to these influences. Within her creative process, her motifs undergo metamorphosis, revealing hidden desires and blurring the boundaries between the tangible and the fantastical.

Freess’s engagement with the human body, shaped by its inherent imperfections, limitations, and instabilities, contrasts with its dynamic interaction with the psyche. This exploration leads her to investigate the inseparable connection between the physical existence of the body and its transcendental cognitive expansion—the mind. The unavoidable imperfections of the body give way to the dominance of the psyche in its multidimensional expressions—spiritual, humorous, and intellectual. This symbiosis reflects an ancient Ouroboros of the human condition. Freess dissects physical forms, focusing on the emergence of a new reality that evokes an artificial memory—a result of the inseparable connection between the reshaped physical form and the intricacies of the human psyche.

Her work is present in several major public and private collections across Europe. 

Claudia Virginia Vitari’s artistic practice uses art as a form of communication, making the invisible visible by focusing on marginal stories and their role in understanding society. Her research explores total institutions and their impact on individuals, highlighting the intersection of personal narratives and societal frameworks.

Vitari works with overlooked groups, including inmates (PERCORSOGALERA), mental health patients (Melancholie), and refugees (Identità Interstiziali), conducting extensive research and interviews to document their experiences. Combining historical, philosophical, and sociological insights, she transforms these narratives into collective reflections on inclusion and exclusion.

Her materials—glass, light, iron, and plaster—emphasize fragility and transparency. Through layered portraits and texts, Vitari’s installations act as lenses, inviting viewers to see reality through the voices of the marginalized, without judgment, fostering empathy and understanding.