Villa Celle and its grounds contain a gloriously varied display of environmental art – art which is inspired by its surroundings whether by acceptance or rejection. Of course, it might be stated that all art is environmental: those Madonne lining the walls of a gallery once formed the centre of an altarpiece and many statues, in particular, were designed for a grand landscape scene.
For me environmental art also has a ritual dimension; as Stonehenge is both a ritual centre and a supreme sculptural statement, so the Angel of the North transforms itself from an artistic creation into a ritual declaration.
Villa Celle dates back to the 15th century and is located in Santomato, near Pistoia. Starting in the sixties Giuliano Gori, a dynamic entrepreneur from Prato, began to build a rich collection of contemporary art.
Dissatisfied with the traditional way in which works of art are exhibited, and inspired by the museum of Catalan Art in Barcelona and the Venice Biennale, Gori thought about the possibility of creating works of environmental art in the vast area of the villa’s romantic park and transformed it into a laboratory open to artists wishing to create works influenced by nature’s spaces and rhythms.
Gori’s Villa Celle has been described as one of the most evocative collections of contemporary art in Italy and I concur with that statement. The collection is private and is open only by invitation: (see web site at http://www.goricoll.it ). We were privileged to visit it the other day in the company of friends.
The curator led us on a wonderful voyage of discovery through the varied landscapes of the villa’s grounds. The trek, lasting close to four hours, took us through bosky woods, olive groves, wide lawns, dark ravines and past shimmering stretches of water. Round each corner artistic creations sprang up to delight, amaze, bemuse or puzzle us.
Here are some of the installations we saw.
Magdalena’s Abakanowicz’s ‘Katarsis’ (1985):
Daniel Buren’s ‘La cabane éclatée aux 4 salles’ (2005):
Fabrizio Corneli’s ‘Great Extruded’ (1987):
Fusto Melotti’s ‘Theme and variations II’ (1981):
Hidetoshi Nagasawa’s ‘Hyperuranium’ (1996):
Marco Tirelli’s ‘Excelle’ (2009):
Anne and Patrick Poirier’s ‘La Morte de Efialte'(1982):
Robert Morris’ ‘Labyrinth’ (1982):
Robert Morris’ ‘The fallen and the saved’ (2000):
Here are further views of the panoply of environmental art and features in Gori’s estate:
The Villa Celle’s collection is certainly enjoyable and it makes a pleasant change to combine a country walk with an art gallery at the same time!