In the figurative arts, the relationship between man and nature has always been the focus of profound reflections and revolutions, and therefore, a reason for careful observation and consequent representation, although often at the centre of a conflictual relationship. A source of interest, amazement, curiosity and mystery, the presence of nature in art is however sometimes silent, relegated to a background position but not to be considered of secondary importance.

The Galleria d'Arte Contemporanea, with its collection of 20th century pictorial and sculptural art, offers a vast panorama of how the artists of the time, although focused on the commission of a specific theme, that of the representation of the Christ figure in modern contexts, did not neglect their interest in Mother Nature and her symbolism. Elements and landscapes insinuate themselves, with different stylistic figures, between the main theme of the works, managing to explain details and situations without the use of words. An invitation to be able to read beyond and lose oneself in the backgrounds that are often rich in attributes to which one can give newfound attention.

As with painting and sculpture, much more intense by nature is the relationship that the art of photography has with reality. According to sociologist Susan Sontag: ‘A photograph is not only an image, an interpretation of reality (in the way that a painting is), it is also a trace, something gushed out directly from reality’.
Mauro Scarpelloni's photographic lens highlights with clarity and simplicity the natural elements that man constantly has in his vicinity; in his photographic research, these features of reality emerge as the essence of the man-nature relationship, emphasised by the importance of a pause in these hectic times of ours, by the joy aroused by a slower gaze that rests on natural elements that are otherwise unnoticed and unobservable. In the context of the two exhibition routes, the representation of a reference to the natural world is not limited to the visible and the explicit: we want to be creators of a motion of reflection and connection through the lens of Art in all its forms.

We would like to create ‘more than bridges’ thanks also to the aid of the new technologies used in these exhibition routes, which will be respectively free and immersive, i.e. without any physical constraint to follow an obligatory path inside the Gallery with the possibility of confrontation with all the works on display. Making the Gallery an immersive space will be the public itself. This will be made possible thanks to the horizontal signage: the flooring of the Gallery will become fertile ground for active immersion through QR codes to be framed with one's device. The contents that will be accessed are not only designed for simple reading, but as vehicles of dissemination useful for building a bond with the work of reference.