In 1966, Florence experienced the painful event of the flood, which claimed over a hundred lives and damaged or destroyed thousands of art masterpieces and rare books. Through the combined efforts of Italian and foreign volunteers, many of these works were restored. However, after this tragedy, the city distanced itself from the banks of the Arno River, “watching it from afar,” and lost its intimacy with the river. For the past decade, the RIVA Project has been stimulating a critical and interdisciplinary inquiry, laying the foundations for the design of a riverside park in the heart of the city, involving the participation of artists, curators, scientists, biologists, and architects, both Italian and international.
As part of its 2024 edition, RIVA reaches the core of the city’s historic center, reconnecting the original river system within the urban area through a collective exhibition set in the Galleria delle Carrozze of Palazzo Medici Riccardi, dedicated to young artists. By highlighting the area where the ancient bed of the Mugnone stream—an Arno tributary—once flowed, the project reconstructs a synesthetic and archaic environment, inviting visitors to immerse themselves in a flow of connections between art and nature.
Marcela Florian Castañeda, Chiara Gasbarro, Veronica Greco, Elisa Pietracito, Irene Scartoni, Giacomo Donati, and Yun Zhang are the seven young selected artists, all active in the metropolitan area of Florence. They transform the Galleria delle Carrozze into a space where site-specific works reflect on contemporary perceptions of natural forms, creating a unified sensory environment that the artists have collaboratively developed.
Organic compositions and video projections reflect on contemporary perceptions of natural forms through an intimate sensory dialogue, while an expanded sound space, aimed at generating a gradual transition from natural to artificial, reveals the challenges of mimetic representation. From the entrance, monumental structures bear witness to the recent climate and environmental crises, while also inviting viewers to rejuvenate themselves in an immersive artistic experience that reconnects with nature.
