Eco-existences: Seven Artists Explore Nature and Artifice in Florence

The exhibition 'Eco-esistenze: forme del naturale e dell’artificiale' at IED Florence, curated by the 2021/2022 class of the Master Curatorial Practice, brings together works by seven contemporary artists: Claudia Losi, Leone Contini, Simone Donati, Elena Mazzi, Eléna Nemkova, Caterina Sbrana, and Nicola Toffolini. The show occupies multiple rooms of the IED venue near the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, extending beyond the physical space through an ambitious public program that includes performances, workshops, and walks across the city. Coordinated by Daria Filardo (IED) and Martino Margheri (Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi), the exhibition features Losi's commissioned piece 'Processo Formale Vivente' from the 2008 Sharjah Biennial at the entrance. Sbrana's 'Mappa Geomorfologica' uses poppy capsules to map a 'third urban landscape.' The public program includes a performance-lecture by Nemkova with scientist Claudio Garbelli, workshops by Donati and Mazzi, a ritual picnic by Contini at an artificial lake along the Arno, a guided walk by Losi with botanist Antonio Perazzi, and a reading group led by Toffolini on texts by P. Blom and C. Flyn. A catalog will be published after the public program concludes, in collaboration with Kunstverein Publishing of Milan.