Claudia Müller's Water Cosmogonies Transform Villa d'Este

The exhibition 'Cosmogonie dell'acqua' by Chilean artist Claudia Müller runs until October 18 at Villa d'Este, turning the Renaissance villa into a laboratory exploring the relationship between nature, art, and landscape. Curated by Alberto Samonà, Davide Bertolini, and Sara Tarissi de Jacobis, it is the first initiative from a scientific collaboration between the Istituto Villa Adriana e Villa d'Este and the Comune di Licenza, part of the MuseoNatura program. Müller, who works at the intersection of art, science, and cosmology, presents three installations: 'Frontera Líquida', a video exploring water's cosmic origins; 'Acqua Lattea', a ceramic installation with flowing water and a poem; and an intervention in the Fountain of Ariadne featuring ceramic spirals inspired by protoplanetary disks. The artist, who lives between Milan and Santiago, discusses her deep connection to Villa d'Este, describing it as 'sublime' and emphasizing the interconnectedness of water, territory, and cosmos. Her practice, spanning over fifteen years, focuses on water as a dynamic, territorial, and cosmological entity. The exhibition is part of VILLÆSTATE 2026 and reflects her ongoing research comparing the Alps and the Andes through sacred water guardians. Müller's current project 'Memoria Idrica' at Casa degli Artisti in Milan investigates Lombardy's water network through ceramic and watercolor works.