Silvia Scaringella. Deus sive natura

Is harmonious coexistence between humans and other forms of life on the planet still possible? Silvia Scaringella poses an urgent and highly topical question, and the profound dialogue between humans, nature and art comes to life in her new exhibition at the Carlo Bilotti Museum.

The artist invites the public to reflect on the fragile balance that links human beings to the living world, both plant and animal, which has always been present on the planet: while in pre-industrial times this balance was maintained naturally, with the advent of modernity, starting in the 2000s, the race for technological progress has gradually undermined this coexistence.

Silvia Scaringella chooses to address the issue starting from Spinoza's famous “Deus sive Natura” – God, that is, Nature – to explore the correspondences between human behaviour, social organisation and natural structures, between the shape of a flower and the human skeleton, between the house and the tree, symbols of a common desire for roots and protection.

Scaringella's research moves along the fine line that separates and unites species, questioning the current inability of different organisms to coexist in the same space. Her artistic vision thus becomes an act of poetic resistance in the face of a world where artifice threatens to suffocate natural life.

This journey is inspired by Villa Borghese, with its centuries-old, monumental vegetation, a place where the artist has observed and studied the dynamics of the natural world and where the first drawings and sculptures that make up the exhibition were created, an interweaving of forms and materials that reflects the vitality of nature and its reflection in human experience.

With Deus sive Natura, Silvia Scaringella offers not only an exhibition, but also a reflection on belonging and interdependence. Her works remind us that man is not the centre, but part of a larger vital system — a universe where every form, animal or plant, is a manifestation of the same creative energy.

Biographical notes

Born in Rome in 1986, Silvia Scaringella graduated in Sculpture from the Academy of Fine Arts in Carrara, where she came into contact with masters such as Renato Mambor, in whose studio she furthered her research. In 2014, a study trip to Iwate University in Japan marked a decisive turning point: Eastern thought and its harmonious conception of nature would profoundly influence her poetics.

In 2019, she won the “Leonardo e il Volo” competition, creating a permanent sculpture for Fiumicino Airport. In 2020, she won the “Love-eyes” competition, creating a sculpture for the city of Tsingtao in China. In 2021, she placed a sculpture at the Circolo Ministero Affari Esteri in Rome. In 2022, she created the sculptural part of the multimedia mural in Carrara curated by Yourban2030.

The exhibition, curated by Maila Buglioni, is promoted by Roma Capitale, Assessorato alla Cultura, Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali, produced and organised by Lamaro Arte, with the support of Yourban2030, the patronage of Carrara City of Crafts and Folk Art, with the technical support of Tabularasa and in media partnership with HF4 comunicazione. Museum services by Zètema Progetto Cultura.

Silvia Scaringella - Deus sive natura - ph. Giorgio Benni