In the Garden of History - the Botanical Garden of Brera
Lokasi: Orto Botanico di Brera
Alamat: Via Privata Fratelli Gabba 10
There is an oasis of green in the heart of Milan. Among the shops and majestic buildings of the historic neighbourhood of Brera, there is an ancient garden where, as early as the 1500s, monks cultivated vegetables and medicinal herbs. It was Arch-Duchess Maria Teresa of Austria who transformed it into a botanical garden in 1774 with an ambitious project to promote agriculture and art. Here, young students learned about the plant world and plants were grown for Brera’s nearby Spezieria or spice-works. A few decades later, Napoleon brought along exotic and ornamental plants and the Orto Botanico became a meeting place for all of Milan’s citizens. Today, the garden is home to scientific studies, but also a beautiful “living museum”, just a stone’s-throw away from the Pinacoteca of Brera. Restoration work in 2001 brought to light its original configuration, with two elliptical basins, an arboretum and overflowing flowerbeds. With truly useful herbs, rare species and greenhouses for tropical plants, there is a precious collection of hydrangeas and two Gingko Biloba that, at the ripe age of two-hundred-and-fifty-years old, represent the patriarchs of the garden.
If the complexity of the approach to sculpture is indisputable, the factor that makes Pino Pascali's artistic practice so brilliant and original is another. Pascali is an artist who is always current because he was an "exhibitionist".
The exhibition reflects on the traditional concept of the vitrine and its centrality in exhibition projects. In relation to the "classical museum display", the display case separates and at the same time exposes the object, offering it for viewing, but creating a barrier for the viewer.
Over 200 shots, including over 60 medium and small formats, chosen and selected by the author and presented together with an unpublished interview, retrace the career of one of the most famous contemporary photographers.
The first museum exhibition dedicated to the work of Miranda July retraces the thirty-year career of the American artist, director and writer from the 1990s to today, presenting short films, performances and installations.