Exhibition
Palazzo dell’Agricoltore is pleased to host “The House of the Farmer”, a site-specific installation conceived by British artist Mike Nelson and curated by Didi Bozzini, from 24 September 2021 till 12 June 2022.
A monumental installation
The exhibition has its origin in the history of the building, reflecting on the political, economic and social role it has played over 82 years since its construction in 1939. The building history is reflected in its name — Palazzo dell’Agricoltore — and by the title of the exhibition, The House of the Farmer. The palace was the seat of the corporation that organised and facilitated agricultural activities under the Fascist government.
It occupies all its floors, drawing on the visceral and poetic power of the palace and the materials that inhabit its halls, taken from the wild landscape in the rural region surrounding the city; rocks, tree trunks, branches, and roots, and even the entire side of a hill has been moved inside the building as if part of its architecture. This way, Nelson leads you to imagine the building as a sculpture itself and attempts to provide a mental and material path between reflection and fantasy, between nature and culture.
Artist
Mike Nelson is a contemporary British artist whose artistic practice is notable for the creation of site-specific installations that exist only for the period of the exhibition, labyrinths in which the viewer is free to move as they wish, and in which it is often difficult to be certain of the positions of the entrance and exit. He earned the 2001 and 2007 Turner Prize nomination. In 2011 he represented Great Britain at the Venice Biennale. In 2018 he was presented with the Charles Wollaston Award at the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition.
Curator
Didi Bozzini was born in Parma in 1961, where he currently resides after twenty years living in Paris. Former researcher and professor of philosophy at the Sorbonne, then art critic and independent curator, he has collaborated with many private galleries, the Pompidou Centre in Paris, the Institut National de l’Audiovisuel, the Musée de la Vieille Charité in Marseille, the Fotografiska Museet in Stockholm, the Musée Vouland d’Avignon, the Rencontres Internationales de la Photographie in Arles, the MACRO of Rome and the Brescia Musei Foundation.
With thanks to Galleria Franco Noero in Turin which represents Mike Nelson in Italy for their kind collaboration in the achievement of the exhibition and the Municipality of Parma and Parma Italian Capital of Culture 2021 for their patronage.
At the dawn of a restyling process that by 2024 will lead to the transformation of the building into a new space and toward a new idea of regenerative hospitality, with ‘The House of the Farmer’ a new era begins for the Palazzo, focusing on acceptance, empathy and culture — values that bring Nature back into the Palazzo dell’Agricoltore.
Opening hours
Saturday and Sunday
March from 10am to 5pm
April, May and June from 10am to 6pm
Open also on 25 April, 2 June
Weekdays open by appointment
Guided tours with reservation
Info and reservations
info@palazzodellagricoltore.it
Press Office
Silvia Macchetto Pr&communications
www.silviamacchetto.com
silvia@silviamacchetto.com