'Seven Works of Mercy' featuring Yu Hong and Lee Ufan at Pio Monte della Misericordia, Venice, Italy

30 January 2026

From 25 January – 24 April, the Pio Monte della Misericordia in Naples presents the eighth edition of 'Seven Works for Mercy', a project that invites contemporary art to engage with one of the most powerful symbolic cores of Western tradition. Works by Yu Hong and Lee Ufan have been permanently incorporated into the institution's collection as artist donations, reaffirming a practice of patronage that intertwines cultural production and social commitment.

Displayed in the church of Pio Monte, the new works are in direct dialogue with Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio's 'The Seven Works of Mercy', commissioned in 1606 by the Governors of the institution. The comparison does not take the form of an iconographic citation, but develops as a reflection on the contemporary meaning of mercy, understood as vulnerability, care, connection, and collective responsibility.

The use of diverse media, from sculpture to painting, photography to digital techniques and generative processes based on artificial intelligence, offers a diverse reading of the theme. Yu Hong focuses her gaze on fragments of the body painted on a gold ground, evoking a dimension both iconic and profoundly contemporary. Lee Ufan proposes a pared-down gesture that invites contemplation of the void and the relationship between the elements.

Find out more via Il Giornale dell'Arte.

Image: Yu Hong, Death Can’t Be Known until One Knows Life, 2023, Acrylic on canvas, 30 x 43 cm, 11 3/4 x 16 7/8 in © Yu Hong, Courtesy Lisson Gallery