Reception Rome opens its doors in the Prati district with its inaugural multi-part exhibition Ecce Hombre by Jesus Benavente. Unfolding across five chapters between September 19 and December 19, 2025, the exhibition reflects Benavente’s ongoing exploration of vernacular traditions, the aesthetics of labor, and the slippages between reverence and satire.

 

Primarily a performance artist, Benavente also creates installations and objects from humble, everyday materials, often transforming hardware-store detritus into sites of meaning. His practice navigates themes of faith, police authoritarianism, national identity, and the complexities of work and value. Born in San Antonio, Texas, to immigrant Mexican parents, Benavente often draws parallels between artistic production and systems of labor, while using humor as a tool to confront difficult subject matter. At the same time, his work grapples with futility—taking an affirmative stance against the futility of art-making itself, and treating failure as both inevitable and impossible.

 

For Ecce Hombre, Benavente presents works in five evolving chapters:

 

Chapter 1: Why I Find Miraculous Beauty from Being Cut Down 19.09 - 11.10.2025

Chapter 2: Why I Cry Now and Cry Later 17.10 - 11.11.2025

Chapter 3: Why I Get Knocked Down But Get Up Again 14.11 - 13.12.2025

Chapter 4: Why I Cannot Be Restored to Former Glory 14.11 - 13.12.2025

Chapter 5: Why I Am Not Dancing Closing Reception, 19.12.2025