edoardo tresoldi simbiosi: rebuilding a ruin at arte sella

edoardo tresoldi has unveiled simbiosi, a new site-specific artwork for arte sella — an open air museum located on italy’s trentino valley that weaves nature and art together. following the works of renowned artists and architects such as eduardo souto de moura, kengo kuma, michele de lucchi, and ettore sottsass, tresoldi’s work represents the last stage of the rebirth of the trentino park, which reopened last spring following a storm that damaged it badly.

all images by roberto conte

simbiosi by tresoldi responds to the repercussions the storm left on the art park. ‘when I first visited arte sella, I ran into some ruins along the road,’ comments the artist on the book that accompanies the installation. ‘the character of the ruin within the landscape is an element I’ve always found fascinating, for it is part of my territory and it embodies the idea of dying architecture in the collective imagination… therefore, being attracted to this element, I felt I wanted to own it, which I did by redefining it, rebuilding it within my own world, a world made of non-matter and of elements coming from my own cultural heritage and my imaginative world.’

focusing on the experiential perception of space and the relationship with the landscape’s elements, simbiosi is a 5-meter-high wire mesh ruin suspended between architecture, nature and a temporal dimension. the artwork, which seems to challenge the forces of gravity, showcases a turning point in the artist’s evolution, where he has, for the first time, blended his signature transparency with the materiality of local stones. ‘I rebuilt a ruin, but I did so following unusual rules of matter,’ he continues.

opposed to a conventional ruin which is defined by a process of organic deterioration, simbiosi plots the twist and reconstructs the ruin’s structure. the piece is therefore a reinterpretation of the surrounding landscape through the intentional connections between architectural and natural elements, whose continuous exchange defines the aesthetics, meanings and logics of sculpture. it is through architectural archetypes that tresoldi interprets the ruin not as an expression of our triumphant humanity — like monumental architecture does — but rather as one of human fragility.

overall, simbiosi responds to the human urge to understand and analyze everything. it embodies our primordial vocation to merge with the natural element, and at the same time, to interpret it; the need to become part of the landscape and to represent it according to the codes that belong to it.

through the years, simbiosi will see nature slowly grow on it, defining a new architecture, becoming part of the arte sella fabric and ultimately blending with the park.