Erbario e gli invasati

Casa degli Artisti presents a dual project by and with Ugo La Pietra, exploring making as a space of relation between art and craftsmanship, individual and collective, and nature and design. The programme unfolds through two installations, “Erbario” and “Gli invasati”, developed in dialogue with the residents and installed in the outdoor spaces.

“Erbario” condenses La Pietra’s long-standing reflection on diversity through the engraved mark, presenting a series of spontaneous herbs and minor plants reproduced on ceramic book pages. Composed of twelve open books arranged on lecterns, the work originates from the artist’s observation of marginal landscapes, forming a personal archive fixed in clay through a slow, manual process that suggests a non-hierarchical reading of nature.

In parallel, “Gli invasati” develops as a collective project in which participating artists engage with a shared archetype—the terracotta vase—transforming it through individual formal and conceptual approaches. The resulting ensemble highlights both coherence and difference, where material acts as a unifying element and the individual gesture enters into dialogue with a long-standing tradition.

Supported by Fondazione Michelangelo, the project extends into Design Week within “Arts & Crafts & Design”, reinforcing a shared approach that questions distinctions between fine and applied arts and emphasises manual practice, intergenerational exchange and the relationship between humans and the environment.