Exhibitions and Events
Interi Announces The Crucifix Collection Exhibition with The Museo de’ Medici
March 23rd - April 21st, 2024
Interi will be premiering The Crucifix Collection, an exhibition presenting 17th and 18th century Italian crucifixes transformed into works of art, at the Museo de’ Medici in Florence, Italy on March 23rd. Jean O’Reilly Barlow, the artist and creative director of Interi, has collected several original 17th and 18th century fragmented crucifixes from historical churches throughout Italy.
"With Easter approaching, many can appreciate the beauty and craftsmanship that went into each ecclesiastical artifact. Once works of art that graced churches throughout Italy, these pieces were used as depictions to ornately articulate the beauty of the gospel story. Over time, the crosses and crucifixes became too distressed and were deemed beyond restoration. But the artifacts still hold significance and history in each detail.” Each 17th and 18th century Italian crucifix has been preserved and transformed with rare minerals from all over the world. The minerals adorn the broken aspects of the artifacts, looking as though each piece evolved together over time and creating contemporary sculptures of old and new.
"Through passion and preservation, the figurative elements represent a powerful message of redemption and transformation – not just in a literal sense of what each symbol has come to represent, but also in metaphor,” says Barlow. “The ecclesiastical fragments that were once broken have been restored into a new sculptural work. Through contemporary interpretations and natural specimens, each historical artifact transforms into something even more beautiful than before, capturing the message of Easter."
The exhibition will premiere on March 23rd at 6:30 pm at the Museo de’ Medici and will close April 21st. The Museo de' Medici is located in the monumental Rotonda Brunelleschi which was designed in 1432 and built by Filippo Brunelleschi, a famous Italian architect who also built the Florence dome and who is also considered a founding father of Renaissance architecture. The Museo de’ Medici is devoted to preserving the history of the Medici family and exhibiting precious collections of works of art, historical relics, original documents, faithful reconstructions and multimedia installations.
Interi Presents Spolvero: Fresco Prints Past and Present with Florence University of the Arts
August 3rd - September 20th, 2023
Interi Presents The More Than a Fragment Exhibition with St. Mark's English Church
July 26th at 6 pm
Interi founder and former Irish top model, Jean O’Reilly Barlow, will be hosting a pop-up exhibition titled More Than a Fragment at St. Mark's English Church on July 26th. Barlow, who goes by the artist name, Interi, will exhibit her collection of 17th and 18th century Italian church artifacts preserved and transformed into works of art back in the 15th century palazzo that was converted into the church. The exhibition will be centered on Interi’s More Than a Fragment initiative.
More Than a Fragment uses Barlow’s art to raise awareness about the realities of exploitation and uses a portion of profits from her work to fund restoration programs for survivors. About eight years ago, after hearing from her daughters about the devastating reality of modern-day slavery, Barlow saw a
correlation between her art and the people affected and wanted to use her art as a form of activism.
“Through my work, I preserve 17th and 18th century fragment artifacts that have gone beyond restoration and were discarded from historic Italian churches. I then transform them into sculptural art through natural specimens, artistic methods, and contemporary interpretations,” says Barlow. “Like the artifacts, there are also millions of people who see no future for themselves, feeling worthless with no value.”
The modern world currently faces a slavery epidemic where 50+ million people are enslaved (Source: International Justice Mission). Of those millions of people, 71% are women and girls, many of whom are being forced into the trafficking industry (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime). In order to take part in the fight against modern-day slavery, Barlow started More Than a Fragment. Interi’s initiative teams up with an organization that advocates on survivors’ behalf: International Justice Mission. IJM seeks to raise awareness about the realities of human trafficking while restoring victims to wholeness. Barlow’s oldest daughter, Joybelle Christmus, is currently a project management lead for IJM’s North America Strategic Partnerships. She hopes to be able to use her art to push this mission forward alongside her daughters.
"My desire is that the fragment sculptures can artistically articulate that there is beauty behind brokenness,” says O’Reilly Barlow. Interi means “whole” in Italian and through the precious gems and natural specimens, we are making a piece whole again. These precious artifacts remind me that what is deemed as insignificant and broken is not beyond restoration, but can be transformed into something much more beautiful than before. It’s just like us, we are all made more beautiful in and not in spite of trials and tribulation. But we must be willing to offer others that hope and Interi’s mission and vision is to do just that."
The event will take place on July 26th in the sanctuary of St. Mark's English Church at 6 pm. The pieces exhibited willbe available for purchase and 15% of the proceeds will go towards International Justice Mission. To learn more about Interi’s initiative, go to
https://interionline.com/pages/more-than-a-fragment.
.