TRIESTE.- The Historical Museum and Park of Castello di Miramare in Trieste presents the group exhibition Naturae. Contemporary Art Environments, a collective journey on the theme of the deep connection between nature and humans, curated by Melania Rossi. The exhibition will be running from December 6th, 2024 to November 9th, 2025 as part of the Contemporary Miramare series, organised by MondoMostre and CoopCulture in collaboration with the Miramare Museum.
Naturae. Contemporary Art Environments is an invitation to deeply reflect on the connection between humans and nature, shining a spotlight on the ways in which art can become a place of contemplation and introspection and a means to rediscover the wonders of the natural world.
The exhibition brings together more than fifty works by eighteen contemporary artists from different generations and countries of origin, displayed in the stables and park of the castle. From artworks by masters such as Rebecca Horn (Michelstadt, 1944 – Bad König, 2024), Hermann Nitsch (Vienna 1938 – Mistelbach 2022), Marina Abramović (Belgrade, 1946) and Mimmo Paladino (Paduli, 1948), to site-specific installations created especially for the exhibition by Pietro Ruffo (Rome, 1978) and José Angelino (Ragusa, 1977); from unseen works by Serse Roma (San Polo di Piave, 1952) to large-scale installation art by Marta Roberti (Brescia, 1977); from an exploration into the deep connections between the vegetable, human, animal and mineral realms by Simone Berti (Adria on the Po River, 1966), Gianni Caravaggio (Rocca S. Giovanni, 1968), Elisabetta Di Maggio (Milan, 1964), and Christiane Löhr (Wiesbaden, Germany, 1965), to the eclectic artworks of Jan Fabre (Antwerp, 1958); from works in a constant state of flux by Sophie Ko (Tbilisi, 1981) to the video hybrids by Luca Trevisani (Verona, 1979), the detailed creations of Macoto Murayama (Kanagawa, 1984) and camouflage art by Liu Bolin (China, 1973). Engaging in a harmonious dialogue with one of the castle’s most scenic points, the installation TOWARDS YOU by Bianco-Valente was premiered on the occasion of Barcolana’s 2024 sailing regatta.
This art initiative explores the complex connection between nature and humans, the human presence in the landscape, our relationships with the body, with time, with the beauty of natural forms and with the laws of physics.
Throughout the exhibition itinerary, nature manifests as art and art becomes an element of nature, in a constant interplay of views and perspectives. Weaving through sculptural and video installations, paintings, drawings and photographs, the exhibition sets the stage to invite the viewer into each artist’s creative universe, each one a walled garden offering an exploratory and poetic itinerary centred around the relationship between the natural world and our own nature.
Apart from the new site-specific installations, the artworks come from museums and institutions such as Villa Adriana and Villa d’Este, international art foundations and private collections, in many cases on public display for the first time.
Naturae. Contemporary Art Environments has found the perfect setting in Castello di Miramare, a former residence of the nobility perched on a clifftop overlooking the sea, which engages in a harmonious dialogue with the landscape and the elements that surround it. Shaped by the visionary work of Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, who helped design the building and park in the 19th century, the Miramare complex exhibits the artworks in an itinerary which passes through the stables adjoining the museum and into the gardens where, still today, the atmosphere is unique, steeped in historical significance so tightly bound to the relationship between humans and nature.
The exhibition is divided into 12 themed sections presented as “scenes” of contemporary art, displaying selected or site-specific works specifically created for the spaces in the Castello di Miramare stables, which address the deep connection between nature and humans through diverse types of artistic expression.
Anthropocene / humankind and planet earth | Pietro Ruffo
The exhibition opens with a site-specific installation by Pietro Ruffo, inspired by the Anthropocene, the geological epoch that describes the impact that humans have had on the planet’s climate and ecosystem. Large drapes evoke primeval forests, which the public can walk through, symbolising humankind’s attempts to dominate nature, even in its wildest state. Two of the artist’s new works are exhibited for the first time: marine landscapes with overlapping Neanderthal skulls, evidence of humankind on the planet.
Body / landscape of the soul | Rebecca Horn
On the first floor, this section pays tribute to Rebecca Horn, featuring L’air de Vesuvio (2007), one of her Bodylandscapes. Her drawing is a veritable human landscape, which the artist created based on the length of her arms, representing the maximum extension of her body. This “performance piece” combines inner and outer worlds through an impulsive and powerful design, engulfing the viewer and evoking images of cosmic landscapes or landscapes of the soul.
This artwork will remain on display until the 5th of March 2025, replaced with rotations of works by other masters of contemporary art.
Harmony / connections between the realms of nature | Simone Berti, Gianni Caravaggio, Elisabetta Di Maggio and Christiane Löhr
The artists displayed in this section explore the deep connections between the vegetable, human, animal and mineral realms.
Simone Berti presents two paintings in which hybrid forms stand out against a white background, seemingly straight out of a folk legend or fairytale. Gianni Caravaggio exhibits a sculpture made of alabaster in which there is an interplay between solid and void and light, stirring the viewer’s imagination. Elisabetta Di Maggio uncovers surprising parallels between humans and the universe, like the lines on the palm of a hand which bring to mind the veins of a leaf. Christiane Löhr uses natural materials, such as plant stalks and tree blossoms, to create delicate sculptures that are like architectural structures.
Sea / Spiritual Energy | Marina Abramović and Serse Roma
Marina Abramović interprets the inseparable link between human beings and nature with Strombolli, a performance in which the artist lies at the water’s edge, letting the waves gently wash over her, and abandoning herself to the energy of the sea and the volcano. Serse Roma addresses the seascape theme with a contemporary twist in his two large graphite drawings on paper, which evoke the transformative essence of water, and the sublimity and immeasurability of nature devoid of human figures.
Hybridisation / the dynamism of matter | Luca Trevisani
For his video entitled Vodorosli – a Russian word meaning frozen algae – Luca Trevisani drew inspiration from the visionary approach of Alvar Aalto, a leading figure in organic design and architecture. Rigid structures and curved shapes come together harmoniously through the use of light, colour and natural materials. This results in a kaleidoscope of images amidst nature and human artifice, in which the viewer can lose themselves.
Metamorphosis / eternity and fragility of existence | Sophie Ko
Sophie Ko’s Geografie temporali, created using pure pigment and ash, appear as entities in constant evolution, almost like living organisms. The precariousness of existence is highlighted through the use of fragments of butterfly wings, a symbol of metamorphosis but also of the transience of life. This concept is intensely reflected in Lacrime su fuoco, a series of ten small paintings on paper, whose scorch marks give a glimpse of images relating to migrations across the Mediterranean Sea.
Colour / manifestation of life | Hermann Nitsch
Hermann Nitsch uses colour to suggest states of mind, taking inspiration from Freudian studies on the influence of colour on the psyche. The three works on display, a product of his action painting, embody the primal energy and physical dynamism that characterise his artistic expression, transforming each brushstroke into an intense vitality and creative drive, where colours manifest the becoming of life and of existence.
The Garden of Earthly Delights / beauty as a natural defence | Jan Fabre
Four large mosaics tell the violent story of the colonisation of the Belgian Congo, using the metaphor of The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch (1480-1490). The works on display, made using Jewel beetle wing-cases, symbolise the life-death-rebirth cycle. This insect, both fragile and resilient thanks to its protective shell, is evoked as both a physical and spiritual archetype. Placed in the middle of the room is a self-portrait in bronze in which Fabre portrays himself in a state of metamorphosis between man and animal, adorned with goat horns, beast-like and mythological appendages jutting out like antennae to capture fragments of beauty.
Camouflage / art as protection | Liu Bolin
The artist uses his own body to perfectly blend into his surroundings, disappearing into the details of urban and natural landscapes. Through this practice, Liu Bolin presents a critical reflection on the plight of modern human beings, who are often forced to adapt and abase themselves in a materialistic and technology-driven society. His art becomes a proclamation of the intrinsic presence of a soul in every place and object, even the most ordinary.
Natural flows / aesthetics and physics | José Angelino
Because of his scientific background, Angelino weaves art and physics together, bringing to light the subtlest and most imperceptible elements of nature. By responding to the invisible phenomena that surround us, his sculptures transform energy and vibrations into visual and sonic experiences. His works are activated by the Schumann resonance, referred to as “Mother Earth’s heartbeat”, a natural frequency that represents the planet’s rhythm of life, rendering tangible what the human senses cannot normally detect.
Symbiosis / nature untamed and human | Marta Roberti
These high-impact installations comprise large drawings on backlit carbon paper. The artworks explore unspoilt landscapes, from which human and animal figures emerge like apparitions in a lush, peaceful setting, evoking a paradise where all forms of life live in harmony. These works are the result of an elaborate technical process which combines engraving, layering and superimposed designs, lending depth and complexity to the images.
Hidden splendour / botany and technology | Macoto Murayama
Macoto Murayama starts by using a microscope to examine and dissect flowers, which he then recreates using 3D computer graphics software. Each artwork includes scientific elements, such as measurements, the name of each part, and botanical classification, creating an image that goes beyond the simple flower. This results not only in the image of a flower, but also in an expression of the power of the human brain and the technological tools that have been developed to observe and understand nature.
Outdoor Art | Bianco-Valente and Mimmo Paladino
In the Park of Castello di Miramare, the installation Towards You by Bianco-Valente, and Mimmo Paladino’s sculpture Zenith 3, engage in an enchanting dialogue with the surrounding landscape.
Towards You is one of the most emblematic works by the artistic duo Bianco-Valente, who are known for their observations of the relationship between humans and the landscape and its social and cultural connotations. The installation, over six metres long, is perfectly positioned in one of the most scenic settings in the Park of Castello di Miramare.
In Zenith 3, Mimmo Paladino embellishes the landscape with one of his famous sculptures depicting horses. Zenith 3 interacts with the natural setting of the park, with its iconic style and stylised forms, inviting deep contemplation of the scenery. The sculpture seems to evoke a connection between the primal energy of nature and humans, through the figure of an animal with a strong symbolic and mythical nature, reinforcing the encounter between art, human thought and the natural world that defines the entire itinerary.
