New Religion

On the occasion of closure of the exhibition New Religion by Damien Hirst – an event presented by Damiani editore in collaboration with Galleria Michela Rizzo – on Friday 7th September 2007 (at 18.00), the theologian Piero Coda and the philosopher Massimo Donà will be meeting the public to discuss the theme “Art and salvation: the beauty and mystery of health”. The evening will be coordinated by exhibition curator Valerio Dehò. In the context of the New Religion exhibition the debate will deal not only with the secularisation of faith but also the search for a rapid and immediate salvation in this life rather than in the future one announced by religion. Hirst’s hypothesis of replacing religion with science aims at highlighting how a physical and consumerist dimension has been substituted for an actual religious and spiritual one. Salvation has been progressively transformed from the promise of another life into goods standardized by science and on sale at the chemist’s. – Since 1993 Piero Coda has been teaching Systematic Theology. He is a member of the magazine Lateranum and contributes to the magazines Filosofia e Teologia and Nuova umanità. He is a consultor of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and a member of the Pontifical Theological Academy. With Massimo Donà he published Dio-Trinità. Tra filosofi e teologi in 2007. – Massimo Donà, writer and philosopher, teaches at the Venice Fine Arts Academy. With Massimo Cacciari and Romano Gasparotti he founded the magazine Paradosso. He writes essays and articles for magazines and weekly and daily newspapers. – Critic Valerio Dehò is curator and artistic director of KunstMerano Arte.