Art and the Landscape in Italy, from the Dolomites to the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park

Art is an important filter for interpreting the landscape, prompting and inviting you to discover new points of view in addition to raising awareness of nature’s beauty and fragility.
Works of art installed in breathtaking natural settings such as the Ampezzo Dolomites or Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park, have become major landmarks in the landscape, enabling tourists to discover more about the natural environment in need of protection and safeguarding. The idea of combining contemporary art with nature, through site-specific installation projects in outstanding natural surroundings, is common to other initiatives. Certainly in Italy, for example, one of the longest established is the Arte Sella project, launched in the second half of the Eighties, and one of the most striking temporary installations is The Floating Piers created by Christo on Lake Iseo. During summer 2020 two distinctive projects were promoted, unwittingly linked by a common theme.
The first art exhibition, Sentieri d’Arte with the Arcipelago Fossile project, officially opened on July 25 in the Alpine region of Cortina, specifically along the Ampezzo Dolomites (Pian de ra Spines and Gores de Federa) hiking trails. Curated by Fulvio Chimento and Carlotta Minarelli, it includes works by artists Alessandro Ferri (Dado), Federico Tosi and T-yong Chung. The project references the geological history of the Dolomites which, over 240 million years ago, was a coral reef, hence the name “fossil archipelago”. The three artists created site-specific installations along the Gores de Federa hiking trail, each choosing a theme related to a different biological domain: Federico Tosi, fossils but referencing the contemporary, Alessandro Ferri (Dado), the plant world and T-yong Chung. The human sphere. Installed along the trail which runs through forest and crosses a river, the artworks surprise visitors with wonderful ‘accidental discoveries’ along the way. Dado also collaborated with Cortina’s Liceo Artistico on the Pian de ra Spines hiking trail, contributing his own work to the art trail project begun some years ago by the students.

The third ARTEPARCO project, the result of a collaboration between the Park Authority, Comune di Pescasseroli and PARCO1923, opened on August 1 with a new site-specific installation "Un tempo è stato..." (It was once...) by artist Alessandro Pavone. The artist, originally from Trento, designed an imposing wooden sculpture in the shape of a human arm whose hand holds a tree native to Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park. To create the work, Alessandro Pavone used wood from the trunk of a centuries-old larch uprooted by a storm which struck Trentino in 2018, personally selected with the aid of forest rangers from the municipality of Folgaria. "Un tempo è stato..." (It was once) is a reflection on the cyclical nature of life and rebirth after death. It references the National Park’s ancient forests, recognized by UNESCO in 2017 for their natural habitat and biodiversity, which are over five hundred years old and in the senescent phase of their lifetime. The artwork represents a tree that has suddenly crashed to the ground, but then becomes a hand, conceptually representing protection and care for a new tree that flourishes between its fingers. The tree will be planted in November by children from local schools, during the Festival of Trees.

(Agnese Bifulco)

Title: Sentieri d’arte 2020 / Arcipelago fossile
Artists: Alessandro Ferri – Dado (photo 02-04), Federico Tosi (photo 05-07), T-yong Chung (photo 01, 08-09).
Location: Cortina, sentieri delle Dolomiti d’Ampezzo (Pian de ra Spines e Gores de Federa)
curated by Fulvio Chimento and Carlotta Minarelli
Date: 25 july – 2 november 2020
Organized by: Associazione Controcorrente, Regole d’Ampezzo, Liceo Artistico di Cortina
Supported by: Quiqueg agenzia creativa (Milano)
Sponsorship: Comune di Cortina
Photos: Rolando Paolo Guerzoni (01-09)

Title: Arteparco 2020 / Un tempo è stato...
Artist: Alessandro Pavone (photo 10-12)
Location: Parco Nazionale d’Abruzzo, Lazio e Molise - Pescasseroli (AQ) Sentieri C1 e C2
Date: 1 august 2020
Sponsorship: Ministero dell’Ambiente e della Tutela del Territorio e del Mare
Photos: Valentino Mastrella (10-12)

Captions

Photos 01,09
T-yong Chung, Sento qualcuno…, resina, 2020, 70 x 20 cm; courtesy Renata Fabbri arte contemporanea. Ph. Rolando Paolo Guerzoni

Photos 02-03
Alessandro Ferri (Dado), Lettera ”X” il valore simbolico diversamente interpretabile, 2020, legno e ferro, 500 x 500 cm; courtesy l’artista. Ph. Rolando Paolo Guerzoni 

Photo 04
Alessandro Ferri (Dado), Lettera "O" il suono sordo del tarassaco, 2020, cime di albero di pino cadute e ferro, 700 x 300 cm; courtesy l’artista. Ph. Rolando Paolo Guerzoni

Photos 05-06
Federico Tosi, PLATOON, 2020, installazione ambientale, dimensioni variabili (circa 60 mq), calcestruzzo pigmentato; courtesy l’artista. Ph. Rolando Paolo Guerzoni

Photo 07
Federico Tosi, Untitled (ammonite viola), 2020, calcestruzzo pigmentato, 61 x 63 x 13 cm; courtesy l’artista. Ph. Rolando Paolo Guerzoni

Photo 08
T-yong Chung, Senza titolo con uccellini, 2020, legno e resina, dimensioni variabili, courtesy Renata Fabbri arte contemporanea. Ph. Rolando Paolo Guerzoni

Photos 10-12
Alessandro Pavone, Un tempo è stato... 2020, courtesy ARTEPARCO. Ph. Valentino Mastrella

---

GALLERY