In 2006, after acquiring a property where I eventually built my New York studio, I spent four contiguous seasons observing the 14.5 acres of land and set out to make my first large scale earth work. I chose a two acre, tick-infested, swampy depression that had formed after years of soil erosion, and watched rain fall and melting snow move across the surface during four seasonal cycles of vegetation. I made numerous drawings of the topography in the studio and drew directly on the land, tracing the final form that would be made in the following months.
vessels & containers
In the summer of 2008, after three months of work, thousands of tons of earth were reshaped to create three interconnected vessels. The cavities cut into the clay soil were similar to the bowls I had been making in my studio, but on a geological scale. These man-made containers were designed to collect rainfall and through natural processes of stagnation and filtration with indigenous plants, turn the collected rainfall into a life sustaining eco system. An idyllic aquatic habitat that could sustain a diverse population of indigenous organisms, flora and fauna.
The completed work is 750 feet long, 100 feet wide, and 30 feet deep (228 X 30 X 10 meters), located 2,078 feet (634 meters) from the Hudson River’s eastern shore, 85 miles (138 kilometers) north of New York City.
Some of my earliest memories are of looking in the well my grandfather and father dug by hand in the rear garden of our ancestral home, in the Vallo di Diano. The well-provided water for irrigation and a place to cool food and drink during the summer’s scorching, southern Italian sun. The dark, mirror-like surface of the water, in the cylindrical, stone-lined wall of the well, felt ominous, yet its reflective nature was also full of wonder. In this illusory space, I watched the reflection of the sun, sky, and moon move across the surface, behind my own reflection. Its depth was uncertain and could easily be endless, suggesting a passage to another place.
These memories of reflected light and space inspired both the Katonah Museum installation Conflicts & War (2003) and SIAMOSIETE (2007) in the Certosa di San Lorenzo which both employ reflection, natural and artificial light and cylindrical forms rising out of the ground.
hortus artis
I was born into a long tradition of farmers. What is interesting to me is the intersection between the harmony achieved by natural cycles and the human interaction that can influence that balance, for better or for worse.
I spent thirteen days in a fetal position with severe COVID symptoms after contracting SARS-CoV-2 on March 18th, 2020 in Brooklyn, New York. To heal body, mind and spirit, I decided to retreat to my studio two hours north and aside from making new work in the studio, turn a patch of grass into a vegetable and flower garden in order to practice the sacred ritual of putting a seed below a few grains of soil and harvest its bounty, over and over again, with family, friends and community.
The harvest from Hortus Artis has been consumed by family, friends and the strangers who frequent food banks and community fridges within its reach.
curated dozen
TEXT COMING SOON
one thousand trees
TEXT COMING SOON
