Bridging Early Art to the Contemporary

“Balzi Venus and Beyond” Opens at Museo Mar di Ventimiglia August 1-29, 2026

VENTIMIGLIA, ITALY — Balzi Venus and Beyond: Exploring Distant Paths, a solo exhibition by Patrizia A. Salles, opens Saturday August 1, 2026, at the Museum Mar di Ventimiglia's historic Fortezza dell'Annunciata. Curated by Archivio Balbo, the exhibition features 50 mixed-media works, sculptures, sketches and studies installed throughout the Museum's galleries. The exhibition brings the visual language of our earliest ancestors into dialogue with contemporary life, revealing enduring questions about humanity, culture, and our place on Earth.

Inspired by the archaeological legacy of Balzi Rossi—one of the Mediterranean's most significant prehistoric sites—and neighboring regions, the work draws on raw, elemental forms and universal themes to explore humanity's enduring search for meaning through image-making, spirituality, and the body. It also reflects on the migrations of early peoples in response to environmental change, conflict, and evolving belief systems, inviting viewers to consider our shared origins.

HUNTER 2026 78 x 18 x 16 cm

"Coastal northwestern Italy and neighboring France are significant landscapes associated with early human history," says Salles. "Living and traveling throughout this region has profoundly shaped my work. The exhibition invites reflection on our shared humanity, our past, and our connected future.”

Overlooking Cala del Forte, Monaco's Port on the Italian Riviera, Mar di Ventimiglia stands within one of Western Europe's most significant natural historic landscapes extending from the French border to Cape Sant’Ampelio in Bordighera. Together with the nearby Balzi Rossi Museum, it preserves remarkable prehistoric and roman discoveries, including material connected to the Vallée des Merveilles, making it an ideal setting for an exhibition that bridges archaeology, art, and contemporary thought.

We cannot help but impose our modern constructs on the past, and we can never fully uncover what it was like to live long ago. In the Great Quiet: a novel by Laura Vogt

Patrizia A. Salles' work reflects a lifetime of cultural diversity, travel, and exploration. Deeply informed by nature, history, and archaeology, her art revisits ancient beliefs, symbols, and rituals to challenge contemporary assumptions about beauty, identity, and culture. 

Born in Bordeaux, France, Salles was raised in North Africa, Italy, Germany, and the United States, and spent 11 years living in the Caribbean. She has presented solo and group exhibitions throughout the United States—including New York, Nebraska, Georgia, and Texas—as well as in the Caribbean, Monaco, Luxembourg, Italy, France, and Spain. Her work is held in private and museum collections internationally.

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For more information: contact@patriziasalles.com; museoventimiglia@gmail.com 

visit: www.patriziaart.com; www.marventimiglia.it

NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM — Exclusive Artist-Led Tour Enjoy a rare opportunity to explore Balzi Venus and Beyond through the eyes of its creator. Happening on the 28th of August at 9:00 pm with refreshments after — contact Patrizia for more info. . . See you there . . .