Roberto Coda Zabetta Returns to Biella with Exhibition at Fondazione Zegna

Fondazione Zegna in Trivero Valdilana, Biella, will open a solo exhibition by Roberto Coda Zabetta titled "E il giardino creò l'uomo" on May 20, 2023. The artist, born in Biella in 1975, returns to his hometown for the show. The exhibition takes its title from a book by early 20th-century philosopher and gardener Jorn De Précy. Coda Zabetta created a series of works specifically for the space, including "Frana e fango" (Landslide and Mud), a large diptych surrounded by smaller canvases. The paintings evoke the surrounding landscape through layering and materiality, referencing rhododendron colors, manual labor on the land, and the force of nature. The exhibition space was originally a winter garden, an enclosed habitat filled with plants that now figuratively transform into artworks. The show embodies the ethical and aesthetic principles of Ermenegildo Zegna, who founded the wool mill in 1910 and later established the Oasi Zegna in 1993, a 100 km² green area with nearly 2,000 hectares of forests. The Zegna family created the foundation in the 2000s to continue his philanthropic legacy. Anna Zegna, granddaughter of Ermenegildo and president of the foundation, praised the artist as a "Ulisse" who left and returned home. The site also includes Casa Zegna, which houses the company's historical treasures.