THE HOUSE OF THE FARMER

by Mike Nelson

Palazzo dell'Agricoltore in Parma

Curated by Didi Bozzini

24. September 2021 — 12. June 2022

17. October 2021

©The House of the Farmer - Mike Nelson - Ground Floor

Photo: Lucio Rossi

The art project conceived by Mike Nelson for the Palazzo dell'Agricoltore in Parma occupies all the floors of the building. It is a monumental work that draws on the visual and poetic power of the palace and the materials used.

Curated by Didi Bozzini, the exhibition has its origins in the history of the building and reflects the political, economic and social role it has played in the 82 years since its construction in 1939. The building's history is also reflected in its name - Palazzo dell'Agricoltore - and in the title of the exhibition, The Farmer's House.

The palace was the seat of the society that organised and promoted agricultural activities under the fascist government. One could say that this was a place where man's work in nature was transformed into an exercise of cultural and political power. 

Nelson's installation guides the visitor through the entire space, so that one can imagine the building as a sculpture in itself: The stairs and the floor - are interspersed with Nelson's interventions. The natural materials come from cleared land. Rocks, tree trunks, branches and roots and even the entire side of a hill have been relocated inside the building to become part of its structure, as if they were part of its architecture. This network of visual traces is evocative but not descriptive, attempting to create a mental and material pathway in memory between reflection and imagination, between nature and culture.

Mike Nelson says that there is something very visceral about clearing a space. Ripping it out and taking it away from the landscape could be seen or felt as a brutal gesture that in some ways corresponds to the building's relationship to a totalitarian past. It could also be a reminder of the dehumanisation of agriculture through mechanisation in the 20th century and the environmental damage it caused.

The return of these natural forms, outlawed for their obstruction of agriculture, seems strangely poignant in such a building. Artistically, the natural forms will harmonise with the austere and brutal lines of the building's architecture; the marble cladding and flooring will look to and support their unruly relatives - the stones strewn across the floor. The heavy wooden doors will serve as shelter for the twisted branches and roots of the trees." With The Farmer's House - which Didi Bozzini sees as a "walk" through a work that must be explored in its entirety in order to understand it - a new era begins for the Palazzo, one that focuses on acceptance, empathy and culture. The Palazzo is at the beginning of a transformation process that will lead to the building's transformation into a "Regenerative Hotel" by 2023.

© Palazzo dell'Agricoltore, Parma

Photo: Carlo Gardini

MIKE NELSON

Born in 1967 in Loughborough, England, the artist now lives and works in London.

Mike Nelson is a contemporary British artist whose artistic practice is characterised by the creation of site-specific installations that exist only for the duration of the exhibition. These are labyrinths in which the viewer is free to move around and where it is often difficult to determine the positions of entry and exit.

The installation The Coral Reef (2000) - a labyrinth of fifteen rooms and corridors, at Matt's Gallery - earned him a nomination for the Turner Prize in 2001. Nelson was nominated for the Tuner Prize for a second time in 2007. In 2011, he represented the UK at the Venice Biennale. In 2018, he was awarded the Charles Wollaston Award at the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition.

Mike Nelson is represented in Italy by Galleria Franco Noero in Turin.

©The House of the Farmer - Mike Nelson

Photo: Lucio Rossi

DIDI BOZZINI

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 and: 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. He recently curated the exhibition “Il terzo giorno” (“The Third Day”) at the Governor's Palace in Parma, and “Koen Vanmechelen – The worth of life” at the Museo dell’Accademia di Architettura in Mendrisio (Switzerland).

He has written several monographs on modern artists (Goya) and contemporary artists (among others Alighiero Boetti and Sol LeWitt). The most recent relates to the work of the photographer Roger Ballen (“Asylum of the Birds” published by Thames and Hudson – New York and “The House project” published by Odee – London). His latest publication (September 2021) is a monograph on the work of Koen Vanmechelen entitled “Not to be mistaken” (Labiomista press – Genk). His most recent essay to date appeared from the Aliberti publishing house with the title "Abbecedario Eretico" (Heretical Alphabet). He runs the contemporary art column ‘La domenica della vita’ (The Sunday of life) in the cultural magazine ifioridelmale.it 

PALAZZO DELL'AGRICOLTORE

The Chiesi family, owner of the Chiesi pharmaceutical group, and the Bollati family, owner of the Davines cosmetics group, have acquired Palazzo dell'Agricoltore, a historic building in the centre of Parma, through their newly created company Beneficium in 2020, with the aim of transforming it into a regenerative hotel project combining holistic well-being, sustainability and social impact by 2023.

The Palazzo dell'Agricoltore is a 1940s building with a surface area of 9,000 square metres and 7 floors that are completely open - from the World War II air raid shelter in the basement to the terrace overlooking the cityscape.

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

The House of the Farmer 

Mike Nelson 

Palazzo dell’Agricoltore, Parma - Italy

24. September 2021 — 12. June 2022

info@palazzodellagricoltore.it