LA NATURA AMA NASCONDERSI, 2022

LA NATURA AMA NASCONDERSI, VISIONAREA ART SPACE – Rome, 24 Nov 2022 /14 Gen 2023

Benedetto Pietromarchi’s art operates within the processes of nature in relation to artifice, constantly reshaping itself in different contexts, histories and realities. Sculpture is the traditional medium that allows him to formalize his thinking to the fullest, while at the same time enabling him to innovate in research. This exhibition origins from the artist’s contemplation of the Auditorium della Conciliazione and its surroundings, spanning  from Ponte Sant’Angelo to Ponte Vittorio Emanuele II, where the Tiber River is rising and where a habitat composed of a variety of animal creatures and vegetation –  at times lagunary, muddy and vibrant –  can be glimpsed. 

The monumental statues on Ponte Vittorio Emanuele II inspire Pietromarchi’s compositional aspects. In the four sculptures placed on the side of the first room, we see monkeys playfully intending to mimic various human features, elevated on pedestals as if they were monuments. In the center of the room stands a large upside-down tree trunk where, instead of branches, there  are roots inhabited by parrots of various species and the face of a young monkey, infusing an atmosphere of melancholic restlessness.  

A striking element in the exhibition  is a vertical canvas made from the earth of  the Tiber, metaphorically leading viewers toward the river. There, a series of small sculptural elements, once again embodied  by monkeys, are busy riding frothy watery waves, or about to drink and sneer at the viewer. 

The path concludes in the Auditorium’s foyer, where large screens project the banks of the river – those of Lungotevere Vaticano and Lungotevere degli Altoviti –  bringing the viewer halfway between the two banks, where they will visualize the flow of the river and hear the incessant sound of water. 

La natura ama nascondersi (eng: Nature loves to hide) is an ancient fragment of Heraclitus and could be the key to understanding  the questions posed by the artist. In his work, the relationships between man and nature, creation and destruction of matter, play a fundamental role – both reinforcing and challenging its identity. Within this interplay of opposites lies the foundational structure of the whole. 

The solution presented by Pietromarchi consists of a desirable harmony that governs us. Through his works, he attempts to give voice to all those natural elements that cry out to return to their own balance. A crucial aspect of his practice is the use of materials such as terracotta and ceramics, which makes his work particularly expensive, given the current high prices of pottery firings. For this exhibition, the artist has chosen to leave most of his sculptures raw, avoiding an abuse of energy resources. 

This choice recalls the thinking of Levi-Strauss and his famous essay The Raw and the Cooked. In Pietromarchi’s approach there is also a symbolic intent: the desire to creatively regress from the cultural to the natural stage, from a society governed by rules to one shaped by myth. Although for the French anthropologist the transition from “raw” to “cooked” refers to food, the concept can just as easily be applied to terracotta and its procedures.
The exhibition fosters dialogue from two perspectives. On one hand, it presents a purely visual experience, emphasizing materials such as soil, water, and other natural elements central to Pietromarchi’s practice. On the other, it serves as a catalyst for reflection on history, geological transformation, and the urgent need to restore balance between humans, nature, and animals. Ultimately, the artist invites us to perceive art as a realm still intrinsically linked to imagination.