Figure Out: Catastrophe or Regeneration is an immersive installation by Italian artist Paolo Porelli that explores one of humanity’s defining questions: will our future be defined by catastrophe or regeneration? Featuring approximately sixty ceramic figures, the exhibition examines mythology, archetypes, and contemporary life to examine the fragile balance between destructive and generative forces.
Created from slip-cast forms, each sculpture is individually transformed through color, gesture, and surface into a distinct character. Together, the figures embody opposing yet interconnected aspects of human existence. Some evoke overproduction, consumption, extraction, and environmental decline, while others symbolize renewal through organic growth, fertility, water, and the regenerative cycles of nature.
The figures emerge from the wall to share space with viewers, inviting them to reflect on humanity’s relationship with the natural world. Porelli suggests that destruction and creation have always coexisted, but our actions are testing that balance as never before. Figure Out invites us to consider whether we will continue down a path of ecological collapse or embrace a more sustainable and regenerative future.
This exhibition is sponsored by the Gretchen Keyworth Exhibition Fund.
Paolo Porelli (b. 1966, Rome, Italy) is a sculptor whose work explores the human figure through ceramics and mixed media. After graduating in painting from the Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma, he began experimenting with clay, establishing the anthropomorphic figure as his primary expressive form. His sculptures range from intimate to life-size and often incorporate ready-made elements and casts of found objects. More recently, he has used 3-D imaging and printing to develop figures that he individualizes through modification.
In 2012, Porelli co-founded CRETA Rome, an international center for ceramics and fine arts. Elected to the International Academy of Ceramics in 2021, he has exhibited extensively throughout Europe, the United States, and Asia and participated in numerous international residencies and symposia.
Photo: Figure Out, 2026, glazed stoneware, various dimensions.