Works by Luigi Ghirri // Andrea Abati, Olivo Barbieri, Giovanni Chiaramonte, Joan Fontcuberta, Mimmo Jodice, Gianni Leone, Francesco Radino, Olivier Richon, George Tatge, Ernesto Tuliozi, Fulvio Ventura, Verena Von Gagern, Cuchi White // Cesare Leonardi, Franca Stagi

curated by Ilaria CampioliPalazzo dei Musei, via Spallanzani 1Free entry

The exhibition proposes a broad reflection on the natural element by putting into dialogue three experiences that took place approximately in the same years and in which photography, drawing and graphics act as privileged devices in relocating nature within our perceptive horizon in which , often, occupies a secondary, background role.

In the central corridor, dedicated to the work of Luigi Ghirri, images created mainly in parks and gardens between 1984 and 1988 are presented, places where, according to the author, it is possible to relive and experience a feeling of belonging with nature. Places to which he turns after having recounted, in previous years, the profound transformation of the first natural and agricultural areas, effectively marking a radical turning point in the way in which these are perceived.

The second part instead presents a selection of photographs from Giardini in Europa, a collective exhibition created in 1988 curated by Luigi Ghirri and Giulio Bizzarri, in which the results of research conducted in green areas in Italy and abroad by the international artists Andrea Abati, Olivo Barbieri, Giovanni Chiaramonte, Joan Fontcuberta, Mimmo Jodice, Gianni Leone, Francesco Radino, Olivier Richon, George Tatge, Ernesto Tuliozi, Fulvio Ventura, Verena Von Gagern and Cuchi White.

The Architecture of Trees by Cesare Leonardi and Franca Stagi, a monumental work published in 1982 for the study and knowledge of the structure of trees, recounts, in the third part of the exhibition, the enormous effort put in place by the two architects for the recognition of the characteristics of each essence and for the correct inclusion of trees in garden and natural area projects.

All this research, which presents itself as autonomous and complete, testifies to a renewed interest, starting from the end of the Seventies, in green areas, in which the garden reappears in its ideological and ecological but also mnemonic, historical and cultural depth. , as an expression of a new form of sensitivity towards nature and the past today definable as "Green Heritage".

The exhibition is promoted by the Municipality of Reggio Emilia (Civic Museums, Panizzi Library) in collaboration with the Eredi Luigi Ghirri Archive and the Leonardi Archive Foundation. We thank Mariella Stagi Scarpa, Paolo Stagi, Stefano Stagi and the Luigi Poletti Civic Art Library of Modena. The graphics of the communication and the exhibition were curated by ISIA Urbino.

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