What is there
to see?

The five letters IKONO shine in pink neon lights above the entrance and attract curious visitors.

Already in the entrance area, the frescoes of angels and doves on the ceiling with the colourful light sculpture and the neon light tubes create a curiosity-awakening atmosphere. Accompanied by the team, you are taken to the first room, which is closed by a black curtain.

What is hidden in here brings back childhood memories and makes many visitors’ hearts beat faster: a ball pool in which you can dive in! The columns in the background are reminiscent of the baths of antiquity, i.e. the Roman thermal baths. And again, old meets new, making for a unique experience. Low light and background music help to fully immerse yourself in the experience.

In the next room, you go through a labyrinth of light and mirrors. Inspired by the Renaissance, American artist Heaterh Bellino has created a work of art that creates a sense of endless movement. It is important to actually engage with the staging here, to move and notice the lights. Otherwise, the room will quickly become boring.

We continue into a small room, which is equipped with four colorful walls. There are thousands of paper confetti on the floor and in the corner there is a fan whose blower can be switched on at the touch of a button. In the confetti whirlwind, one can feel free, like a child dancing in the rain. Really fun – although it has to be said that the fan could be stronger and should last longer to maximize the experience.

What comes next may be difficult to understand at first, but those who get the “hang of it” can create their own work of art and take it home (or actually send it to themselves by email). We are talking about light painting. Visitors are photographed in a small photo booth and then have 30 seconds to draw shapes in the picture with a light pen. Fantasy and the power of imagination are required to achieve a first-class result.

Before entering the last adventure, the “backstreets of Tokyo”, the path leads through a seemingly endless room in which yellow lanterns are floating. One would most like to lie down on the ground here and look at the lights like stars in the sky in order to be able to lose oneself in space and time.

THE LOCATION
A bit of History

The location alone in which this modern exhibition is housed is fascinating: a historic palazzo built in the 16th century by order of Ottaviano Crescenzi according to plans by Giacomo della Porta (until 1562 also the leading architect of St. Peter’s Basilica) and completed in the 18th century.

Just passing by, one would not guess that frescoes from this period can still be seen on the walls inside the building. Through the wonderful staging of Ikono, these old works of art now meet new ones!

The Palazzo Serlupi Crescenzi is one of the few in Rome that is inhabited by the namesakes of the building or heirs and successors of the family. We only have that in the Galleria Doria Pamphilj.

Nice to know: the IKONO still has a branch in Madrid and Barcelona!