MAXXI Brings Nature-Focused Installations to Venice's Certosa Island During Architecture Biennale
During the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale, the MAXXI museum in Rome launched BioGrounds, a project on Certosa Island that features three installations designed by artist-theorist duos to protect local plants and insects while engaging visitors. Curated by Domitilla Dardi, the installations include Invasi by Andrea Anastasio and Angela Rui, Populus Alba by Formafantasma and Emanuele Coccia, and a piece by Beka&Lemoine with Stefano Mancuso. A fourth installation, Seed bed by Studio Ossidiana with Dardi, is part of the Alcantara MAXXI program and reimagines a medieval hortus conclusus using Alcantara fabric that will be fully recycled. The project runs until October 15, 2023.
Key facts
- BioGrounds is located on Certosa Island, Venice, between Sant'Elena and the Lido.
- The island has a history as an Augustinian and Carthusian monastery (12th-19th century), then military installations until the 1960s, and a reclamation project since 1997.
- Three installations were created by pairs of designers and theorists: Andrea Anastasio with Angela Rui, Formafantasma with Emanuele Coccia, and Beka&Lemoine with Stefano Mancuso.
- Invasi features terracotta pots hung on trees or emerging from the ground, ready to be colonized by plants and animals.
- Populus Alba gives voice to a poplar tree on the island through audio contributions amplified by metal devices.
- Beka&Lemoine's installation honors a tree growing in the monastery cloister, with performances including folk songs and cooking with wild herbs.
- Seed bed is a collaboration between Studio Ossidiana (Giovanni Bellotti and Alessandra Covini) and Domitilla Dardi, using Alcantara fabric that will be fully recycled after the installation's life.
- The project runs until October 15, 2023, and is organized with Vento di Venezia and Teatro Stabile del Veneto.
Entities
Artists
- Domitilla Dardi
- Andrea Anastasio
- Angela Rui
- Formafantasma
- Emanuele Coccia
- Beka&Lemoine
- Stefano Mancuso
- Giovanni Bellotti
- Alessandra Covini
- Franco Raggi
- Ettore Sottsass
Institutions
- MAXXI
- Serpentine Gallery
- Alcantara
- Vento di Venezia
- Teatro Stabile del Veneto
- Artribune
Locations
- Venice
- Italy
- Certosa Island
- Sant'Elena
- Lido
- Rome
- London
- United Kingdom