10 febbraio – 7 marzo 2024

Galleria d’arte la Fonderia presents Sacred Space, a solo exhibition by Cristina Mariani, opening on Saturday 10th February 2024 at 6 pm in Via della Fonderia 42 R in Florence.

More than 15 works on display that recall the concept of Sacred Space, here intended in opposition to the traditional conception of it as closed, delimited and anthropized.

Soil, a central element in the textile artist’s research, is meant as a living organism, composed of minerals, plants, and bacteria, whose conservation is the key to answering questions related to the environmental crisis and climate change.

In her work, Mariani seeks the fusion of digital aesthetics and scientific data with the ancient, ritual, and slow art of manual weaving: the scientific data (sonic spectrogram, thin section, chromatography) loses its precision and accuracy becoming a soft element and flexible.On display are the declinations with which the artist addressed the theme of Sacred Space, from Chromatography to Kakemono, from Bioplastics created with Icelandic sand to applications with mushroom paper and textile fibers.Unlike the carpet that delimits the prayer space, Mariani’s kakemono, inspired by Japanese tradition, are positioned at eye level, inviting the viewer to contemplate, to reappropriate time through its suspension: the sacred space is the natural one, whose boundaries are the work of man himself. The chromatography she uses is a photographic process used in biodynamic agriculture to obtain a qualitative analysis of the soil, seen as a living being, a set of elements that work and live in symbiosis.The search for materials is central: leaves, lichens, mushrooms and the soil that allows their growth come from forests, the rarefied colors invite you to reconnect with the natural space and reflect on the human condition in the time of the climate crisis.
To complete the exhibition experience the installation Soil Saga, which is positioned centrally within the gallery spaces: made with a hand-woven fabric with a traditional Icelandic motif, it recalls minute traces of soil that gradually emerge from the snow, while the pigments used were obtained by grinding local soil samples. Made during the residency at the Icelandic Textile Center, it is inspired by the Vatnsdæla Tapestry, depicting an Icelandic saga.Sacred Space celebrates post-fossil culture and draws attention to the collective need for spaces of silence, for reclaimed spaces of meditation and solitude, in opposition to the consumption and exploitation of land and time.