Nature Forever

The show at the MAXXI in Rome presents Gilardi’s 50-year career in which art, criticism and politics are intertwined, investigating the era of consumerism and the use of new technologies.

Piero Gilardi has recreated portions of nature in the form of carpets, reproduced the faces of politicians and industrialists in satirical masks, persuaded protest marchers to push a giant rock together and constructed stones that beat to the rhythm of our hearts. He believes in a militant, democratic art free from the market, a positive generator of social transformation. MAXXI is dedicating a major monographic exhibition to Gilardi, “Nature Forever”, curated by Hou Hanru, Bartolomeo Pietromarchi and Marco Scotini.

01 / 04

"Nature Forever. Pietro Gilardi", installation view, MAXXI, Rome, 2017. Courtesy Fondazione MAXXI

"Nature Forever. Pietro Gilardi", installation view, MAXXI, Rome, 2017. Courtesy Fondazione MAXXI

"Nature Forever. Pietro Gilardi", installation view, MAXXI, Rome, 2017. Courtesy Fondazione MAXXI

"Nature Forever. Pietro Gilardi", installation view, MAXXI, Rome, 2017. Courtesy Fondazione MAXXI

The exhibition presents Gilardi’s 50-year career in which art, criticism and politics are intertwined. From the complex relationship between man and nature, it investigates the era of consumerism and the use of new technologies in a presentation tackling and exploring themes such as ecology, the relational nature of art and social and political commitment. It is divided into four sections, each of which includes both works and archive materials (sketches, texts, original photographs, small works) allowing a comprehensive overview of the artists thinking and poetic.

As the curators explain, “With over 60 works – from the famous Nature-carpets to the interactive installations and through to the Living Art Park of Turin, along with important pieces exhibited for the first time in years or reconstructed for the occasion – the exhibition reviews the career of a master for whom art and life are identified with and become militant commitment, starting out from that as an ecologist. An artist who is also a critic, researcher and political and social activist. For Gilardi, the artistic object goes beyond the purely aesthetic dimension: it is not made to be contemplated but experienced, shared and participated. And it is this interactivity that runs throughout the show.”

until 15 April 2017
Nature Forever. Pietro Gilardi
curated by Hou Hanru, Bartolomeo Pietromarchi and Marco Scotini
MAXXI – Museo nazionale delle arti del XXI secolo
via Guido Reni, 4/a Rome

Stone: Origins and Future in Architecture

On June 12 and 13, 2025, IUAV University of Venice will host "Stone is…," an international forum entirely dedicated to natural stone. Organized by PNA, this event aims to thoroughly explore the material's enduring value and sustainability, featuring insights from internationally renowned speakers.

Sponsored content

Nature Forever

The show at the MAXXI in Rome presents Gilardi’s 50-year career in which art, criticism and politics are intertwined, investigating the era of consumerism and the use of new technologies.

Designing from a single gesture: Vaselli’s latest collection

Stone: Origins and Future in Architecture

Latest on News

Latest on Domus