Stour Valley Art Project
Biography: Giuliano Mauri
Giuliano Mauri was born in Lodivecchio in 1938 and lives in Lodi. By the end of the Sixties he had come into contact with the main avant garde art movements in Italy. The Seventies saw him as a protagonist in environmental performances. His video and photographic performances were shown in various galleries: La Chiocciola in Padua, L'Alzaia in Rome, the Toselli in Milan and the Cavellini in Brescia. In the same year he produced his first structures for gallery exhibition, shown at the museums of modern art at Bologna, Modena and Warsaw. He also presented work at the Biennale of Venice during those years (1976). In 1978 his enormous snakes and ladders game was installed at the Museum of Modern Art in Bologna as part of the 'Metafisica del quotidiano' exhibition.
In 1980 he built his completely useless windmills: vanes that turned for a wind that did not exist. They did not grind, did not carry water and did not produce light. They only produced a wind that could not be felt.
La casa dell'uomo raccoglitore was created in 1981 (Bergamo, church of Sant'Agostino). The following year he built the imposing Scala del paradiso (140m in length and 10m in height). This consisted of a series of branches driven into the ground bound at the ends using string. The same work was also presented at the Galleria Mercato del Sale in Milan.
In 1984 he began the Altari vegetali constructions on the banks of the Adda, at Lodi: these are in the artist's words, "fabrics of live branches - nature doing and continuing to sculpt". During that year he exhibited the Zeppelin vegetale at the Galleria Quanta in Milan and built La città del sole.
In 1985 he took part for the first time in 'Milanopoesia' presenting the Accampamento padano . At Sassello, near Savona, he built La casa dell'uomo.
In 1986 he constructed La terra del cielo in the church of San Carpoforo in Milan. In the catalogue, Vittorio Fagone defines this as 'art in nature' in the full sense of the term. In 1987 he assembled Le trombe del paradiso at Pegognaga (Mantua).
The Spore vegetali were deposited at Villa Barzino near Genoa in 1988. He gave the performance of Canti dell'esilio d'occidente at Sant'Arcangelo di Romagna.
In 1988 he constructed Il bosco sull'isola at the source of the Tormo in the Lodi region. The following year he was in Copenhagen with Shakti 1 and in the same period he took part in 'Milanopoesia' with Accompanamento padano 2.
In 1991 he started the series, the 'nests' (Monteciccardo, Pesaro).
In 1992 he returned to Lodi with Il campo di duecento pertiche and L'albero dei cento nidi. He was invited to the 37th Triennale of Milan. The Altari vegetali and Creatività e creato were produced at Borgo Valsugana (Trento).
In June 1993 he participated in the 'Art in Nature' symposium in Hanover.
In Chicago he was invited to 'Athenaeum' at the Architecture and Design Museum in the Italian Pavilion.
In Tranekaer, in Denmark, he built Arpa eolica for the 'Tikon' project.
In Cottbus, near Dresden, he erected a large Cattedrale vegetale.
In 1997 he built Casa della memoria in the ground of Laumier Sculpture Park, with maquettes, models and drawings in the Museum in St Louis, Missouri, USA.
In 1998 he made a similar work for the European Art and Nature Triennial, at Dragsholm Castle, Denmark.
In 1999 he made three woven structures from chestnut, 'imprints', for the Stour Valley Art Project at King’s Wood, Challock in Kent.
