Brunivo Buttarelli's 'Racconti materici' at Rocca Sanvitale

The Rocca Sanvitale in Sala Baganza opens its Farnese apartments to contemporary art with 'Racconti materici', a solo exhibition by Brunivo Buttarelli (born 1946, Casalmaggiore). Running until 29 November 2026, the show marks the artist's 80th birthday and surveys over forty years of his practice. Buttarelli transforms discarded industrial materials—metal fragments, corroded wood, bent iron, oxidized surfaces—into sculptures that evoke fossils from a remote future. The works are installed in the Appartamento Farnesiano, featuring 18th-century stuccoes and frescoes by Sebastiano Galeotti, creating a dialogue between historical architecture and contemporary art. Key pieces include 'La Discordia' and 'Lucente luna metallica', the latter referencing Ariosto's 'Orlando Furioso' as a metaphor for contemporary waste. The series 'Nel tempo ciclico della vita' explores themes of death and rebirth through material transformation. The exhibition extends into the Giardino Farnesiano with hybrid creatures and broken shells. Buttarelli's approach treats material as a living archive, emphasizing slow geological time over consumerist acceleration.