Hortus – Quasi -Conclusus : GE Ghirardi Botanical Gardens

EXHIBITION ABSTRACT Contacts: Hortus – quasi – Conclusus by Laura Brignoli Hortus – quasi – Conclusus is a project conceived by Arianna Tinulla Milesi and curated by Laura Brignoli, bringing together approximately twenty Italian and international artists working across diverse media, including painting and performance. The exhibition investigates the concept of the hortus conclusus—the enclosed garden of medieval monastic tradition—rooted in the Song of Songs and historically associated with the Garden of Eden and Marian iconography. The participating artists engage in a dialogue with the living plant collections of the botanical garden, drawing inspiration from monastic practices of cultivating medicinal and edible species. Their works establish a layered relationship between artistic research and botanical knowledge, activating the garden as both a physical and symbolic site. The curatorial narrative unfolds through social, material and spiritual trajectories, addressing both concrete historical practices and the ritualistic or recreational uses of plant species by saints and religious figures. The hortus conclusus emerges as a symbol of protection and knowledge: traditionally divided into four sections and centred around a fountain or well, it functioned as a microcosm in which the natural, human and divine realms coexisted in harmonious balance. Within this framework, the botanical garden is reimagined as a contemporary ecological scenario and as a metaphor for nature understood as a mental, enclosed and fertile space. It evokes dream imagery and the unconscious, while also reflecting on the garden’s shifting social role as a site of power, access and dissemination. As part of the project, three workshops led by artists and art therapists will further expand these themes through participatory and educational practices.