An Italian Artist Brings Renaissance Gardens to Life

Artist Chiara Camoni mixes rich organic materials with tactile ceramics, and her works are characterized by the use of objects belonging to the domestic world or materials.

In her new exhibition “Connect and come together. Sisters. Tornadoes of flame. Bones of the lioness, snakes and stones”, held at the Pirelli Hangar Bicocca in Milan, artist Chiara Camoni mixes rich organic materials with tactile ceramics, and her works are characterized by the use of objects belonging to the domestic world or materials.

Her carefully crafted sculptures combine home design and the natural world: vibrant flowers, colorful plants and anthropomorphic shapes come together in lively compositions, created with materials gathered from Italian fields and rivers.

Chiara Camone (1974), lives and works in Seravezza, Italy, is one of the most important Italian artists of her generation. Her artistic practice extends from painting to botanical prints, from video to sculpture, with a special interest in ceramics. 

Collaborate with nature

Camoni collaborates extensively with nature, and with friends and family members, who participate in creative workshops, making her works an integrated collective architecture, inspired by late and modern Italian horticulture.

“Most of my works originate from the home or garden, and are conditioned by the weather and climate, as well as ambient sounds,” says the artist.

She adds: “The encounter with the work of art requires an active relationship with the surroundings. Plants also need light, and grasses and wild trees grow happily where the monuments are located.”

Camone believes that “there are two types of artists: those who do not touch the material, and those who cannot do without it, and I belong to the second group.” 

Camoni began working with her grandmother, Ines Passanetti, early in her artistic practice in 2002. Passanetti became her assistant, which led to an unusually close family artistic bond. 

Her grandmother created a collection of botanical and animal drawings using Camoni, part of her “La Grande Madre” series. Recently, the artist invited friends and collaborators to select books and memorabilia for Carozone (2021), an installation that takes the form of a traditional carriage.