The mysterious and unforgettable heroes of "Diabolik by Enzo Facciolo” slip away on tiptoe and leave the scene to a new exhibition set up in the suggestive rooms of the Museo “Parisi Valle” in Maccagno con Pino e Veddasca.

Mother Nature. Four women artists and the difficult balance between humans and nature is the title of the group exhibition by Renata Bonzo, Cristina Bracaloni, Simonetta Chierici and Margherita Leoni, which will open on Saturday 26th March 2022 at 5.30 pm. Four women, four different sensitivities, four ways of interpreting Nature with a capital “N”, seen as mother, as source of life and beauty, of discoveries and mysterious worlds.
What do these artists have in common? First of all, they share the passion for the fascinating technique of watercolour painting. But above all, it is their very special, almost symbiotic bond with nature that makes them companions in this new adventure.
Each artist has had different training. Various experiences have led them to explore and experiment with the medium, developing different styles.

After completing her artistic studies, Renata Bonzo graduated from the Brera Academy of Fine Arts and then started a teaching career. She is a founding member of the AssociazioneFloraviva and an illustrator at the Scuola del Fumetto in Milan and runs courses in botanical drawing at the Brera Botanical Garden. Her series of botanical watercolours is a testimony to her highly detailed and precise painting technique. The subjects of her numerous works are flowers, animals and the fascinating landscapes that illustrate her travel diaries, also including sketches of Lago Maggiore, such as Moonlight on the Lake, seen from Campagnano.

Cristina Bracaloni has dedicated herself to watercolour painting for more than twenty years, constantly looking for new challenge and improving her technique while following her instinct and her emotions. A member of the A.I.A. (Associazione Italiana Acquerellisti) since 2003, she has been its vice president for several years. Since 2012, she has been the coordinator of the ECWS (European Confederation of Watercolour Societies), founded in 1998 by the A.I.A. and the Belgian Association: a network including fourteen watercolour associations from Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Spain and Sweden as well as about 5000 professional painters.

Simonetta Chierici, a biologist, grew up in the countryside around Noceto in the province of Parma. After early experiments in metal and ceramics, she discovered her passion for watercolour painting more than twenty years ago, letting water and colour flow freely which, mixed with each other, trace landscapes, trees, animals and people who have played a particularly important role in her life. The key to her work: experimenting, using new techniques and media, in search of the new and the unknown. Since 2004 she has been holding studio workshops in the suggestive Riserva dello Zingaro in Trapani, a spectacular oasis where Nature rules unchallenged. Many of her works are part of the collections of museums, libraries and foundations. She is a member of the Società per le Belle Arti ed Esposizione Permanente in Milan and was the president of the A.I.A from 2014 to 2019.

Margherita Leoni was born in Bergamo and graduated from the Brera Academy of Fine Arts. She spent many years of her life (from 1999 to 2016) in Brazil.
This was an extraordinary experience that led her to study and valorise the biodiversity of the rainforest and explore the relationship between humans and nature.
Close contact with Nature enables her to recognize and appreciate the value of every single element. In her Project Our Paradise (2008) she reworks and overlays watercolour paintings, applying digital technology and thus creating large size landscapes, as if Mother Nature was welcoming the human being in her womb. An example is the extraordinary work Heartbeatings - Appearances, where the images change according to the light that passes through them, just as in real life.

In recent years, Maccagno has dedicated several exhibitions to watercolourists: in 2008: Mostra-Estemporanea (an open air competition)
in 2010, 2011 and 2012 (seventh edition): “Emotions in watercolour”.
in 2013: “Here are the watercolours”, as part of the International Watercolour Festival in 2018: the international exhibition “Maccagno in Watercolour”.

The Municipal Administration and the Pro Loco Maccagno Lago Maggiore welcome visitors to this new, extraordinary and exciting journey that also includes meetings with the artists and open air workshops.

The exhibition Mother Nature. Four women artists and the difficult balance between
humans and nature will be open from 26 March to 19 June 2022.
Opening hours: Friday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.;
Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Free entrance, limited in number and according to legal regulations at the time of the event
Special openings for groups and school classes upon reservation

Civico Museo “Parisi Valle”
Via Leopoldo Gianpaolo 1
21061 Maccagno con Pino e Veddasca (Va)
+39 0332 561202
www.museoparisivalle.it
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Civico Museo Parisi Valle Scientific and organisational committee:
Federico Crimi: scientific curator
Giorgio Bianchi: set-up
Giovanni Colombo: web
Alessandro Fazio: graphics
Costanza Guerri: press office

Municipality of Maccagno con Pino e Veddasca
Fabio Passera: Mayor
Elisabetta Cornolò: Culture councillor

Pro Loco Maccagno Lago Maggiore
Michele Todisco: president

Locandina (click per ingrandire)