Path to Paradise Press Release
For Immediate Release
PATH TO PARADISE
Contemporary artists pays homage to Ghiberti's masterpiece
Florence, September 19, 2025
Exactly 600 years after Lorenzo Ghiberti was commissioned to create the North Doors of the Baptistery ("the most beautiful work in the world ever seen, whether ancient or modern," in the words of Giorgio Vasari), the so-called Gates of Paradise of the Baptistry of San Giovanni in Florence are the inspiration for an exhibition featuring works by 37 contemporary artists from all five continents.
Monday, November 3, 2025, to Tuesday, November 11, 2025, the Sala d'Arme of Palazzo Vecchio hosts "The Path to Paradise – Verso il Paradiso," an exhibition promoted by Galleria Frilli of Florence and the Pneuma Art Foundation. The exhibition aims to celebrate the connection between past and present, drawing on the humanistic core, artistic boldness, and philosophical ambition that characterized Ghiberti's doors, and enabling the next generation of emerging figurative artists to reinterpret them.
The exhibition preview for the press will be held on Monday, November 3, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. in the Sala d'Arme of Palazzo Vecchio. Giovanni Bettarini (Councilor for Culture of the City of Florence), Brett Colbert (Pneuma Art Foundation), Clara Marinelli (Frilli Gallery), and Luna Jasmine Gordon (exhibition curator) will be present.
A call for proposals for the exhibition was launched, open to all artists with ties to Florence. Artists were invited to submit a concept related to the themes and ideas of the Gates of Paradise panels.
A judging panel was then formed, which ultimately selected the works of 37 artists, all originally from Florence, trained in Florence, or active in the local scene.
The Exhibition
Curated by American artist Luna Jasmine Gordon, the exhibition first features a display of all ten replicas of Ghiberti's panels along with the frame of the Door—with the possibility of admiring them up close—arranged in the same order as they are placed on the Door: Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah, Abraham and Isaac, Jacob and Esau, Joseph and His Brothers, Moses, Joshua, David and Goliath, and finally The Queen of Sheba.
The exhibition includes the ten panels displayed along the perimeter walls of the room, and, next to each, works by contemporary artists who were inspired by them. Each exhibition participant chose one of the Gate panels (and the Old Testament story summarized in images) and drew inspiration from it to create their own painting, sculpture, mixed media, or multi-material work.
The sculptures will be positioned on pedestals, welcoming viewers with a sense of movement; the paintings will bring to life the stories depicted on the panels. Each artwork will carry a connection to the contemporary world: a personal story or a current social issue. These themes will create a bridge between the old and the new, the ancient and the contemporary, the human and the divine, highlighting the questions and challenges that punctuate our path to Paradise.
Finally, the frame of the Gate will be positioned at the back of the room, and the space housing the panels will be covered with a thin, flowing fabric, recalling the Arte di Calimala, which funded the first competition to create the doors in 1401.
The Sponsors
The Frilli Gallery in Florence, a historic business founded in 1860, has lent its expertise in lost-wax casting to many important projects. In 1990, Frilli created the replica of the monumental Gates of Paradise in gilded bronze thanks to funding from a Japanese sponsor, Mr. Motoyama. The then President of the Frilli Gallery, Aldo Marinelli, oversaw every step of the replica's development, from the retouching of the waxes obtained from the casts of the renowned restorer Bruno Bearzi after the war, to the chiselling of the castings, to the gilding carried out in France. The original Gates, marked by historical events, not least the flood of 1966, were restored after 27 long years of work and finally placed in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo.
frilligallery.com
Brett and Olivia Colbert founded Pneuma Art Foundation in 2022, after spending several months before their wedding between Rome and Florence. They met a community of artists scattered throughout Italy, and the more they spoke with them, the more they realized that many, despite being highly qualified, it was difficult to transition from "student" to "professional" artist. Pneuma was therefore born to bridge this gap, to create real opportunities like exhibitions, patronage, mentoring, workspaces, and finding an audience. They aim to make the art styles of the past alive today, promoting artists working at a high technical level with a contemporary voice.
The Artists:
EXHIBITION INFO
The Path to Paradise
Curated by Luna Jasmine Gordons
November 3, 2025 – November 11, 2025
Sala d’arme, Palazzo Vecchio
Piazza della Signoria, Florence
Media preview and opening: Mon, November 3, 2025, 11:00 a.m.
Opening hours: Daily 11:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.; Thurs, 10:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.
Free admission