Davide Quayola brings digital nature to Arte Sella

Roman artist Davide Quayola (b. 1982) has installed his video work 'Jardins d'été' (2016) at Arte Sella, the contemporary mountain in Trentino, Italy, challenging the association's core principles of using natural materials and allowing works to return to nature. The piece is shown in a dark room within the Malga Costa section, where viewers first experience disorientation before encountering the high-definition projection of Loire gardens that inspired Claude Monet. Quayola's technology, including ultra-high-definition cameras and complex algorithms, recreates the effect of a gentle breeze on dahlias, roses, and lavender. The artist reinterprets the 19th-century plein-air tradition, moving beyond realism toward an ultra-realistic, almost magical reality. The exhibition coincides with his upcoming show 'Ultima perfezione' in Modena. Arte Sella's artistic director Emanuele Montibeller had established guidelines favoring natural materials and site-specific works that return to nature, but Quayola's digital intervention redefines this relationship.