Italian-born, London-based artist Enrico David is the subject of a major retrospective at the Castello di Rivoli Museo d'Arte Contemporanea near Turin, titled 'I'm Back Tomorrow.' The exhibition, his largest to date, spans three decades of his work and occupies the museum's 147-meter-long Manica Lunga gallery. David first gained attention in the late 1990s for his large embroideries featuring masked figures, many purchased by collector Charles Saatchi, but later shifted to creating psychologically charged sculptures of mutated humanoid forms. The show is arranged not thematically or chronologically but as a series of 'vertebrae' anchoring the space, with elements evoking trade fairs and commercial design—a language familiar from his father's neon-sign business.
This exhibition matters because it offers a comprehensive view of an artist who has consistently evolved, from early textile works to enigmatic, androgynous sculptures that draw on art history, folk art, advertising, and gay pornography. David was shortlisted for the Turner Prize in 2009, and his work challenges conventional boundaries between craft, design, and fine art. The show's setting in the Castello di Rivoli, a contemporary art museum housed in a historic castle, underscores the dialogue between tradition and avant-garde practice. By presenting three decades of work in a non-linear, stage-like arrangement, David invites viewers to consider how objects can serve as avatars for loss, desire, and the everyday.