Entering the exhibition space at Pinksummer in Genoa means stepping into a suspended universe, a web woven by the visionary genius of Tomás Saraceno, where the dialogue between humans and animals unfolds through mutual recognition. Here, visitors are not merely welcomed but integrated into an ecosystem that invites humans and non-humans alike to coexist and redefine the boundaries of interaction. In the large white room, it’s impossible not to become ensnared in the alchemical web of Cloud Cities, visionary installations evoking floating, sustainable cities. These modular, elegant, and suspended structures host and are surrounded by spiders, insects, birds, dogs, cats, rats, and other creatures, creating a space where art, science, and life entwine. Among the scene’s protagonists are hexagonal nests reminiscent of honeycomb cells—harmonious structures that seem to unite the work of birds and bees in an imaginary interspecies collaboration. This suspended landscape connects sky and earth through shelves climbing the walls, culminating in those small hexagonal refuges: birdhouses or new beehives, symbols of synergy between different life forms. In this narrative, Saraceno constructs a passage that is both physical and symbolic—an alchemical work where earthly matter spiritualizes, and the spiritual is rooted in materiality.
Tomás Saraceno, “ANIMA∞LE”, installation view at Pinksummer Contemporary Art, Genova. Photo credits: Alice Moschin, courtesy the artist and Pinksummer
Alchemy, in its purest sense, becomes a metaphor for the artistic process: transforming, combining, and sublimating elements to lead us toward a broader, more interconnected, and profoundly poetic vision of the world. This process of sublimation, which in Saraceno’s work becomes a contemporary reinterpretation of the interconnectedness of all life forms, strongly echoes the work of Albrecht Dürer. In his Melencolia I, Dürer explores the conflict between the physical and spiritual worlds, representing the tension between the quest for perfection—symbolized by alchemy and geometry—and humanity’s limits in understanding a higher reality. Dürer’s vision of sublimation is not just an act of transforming matter but an attempt to reveal hidden harmony within chaos and discover deeper truth. Similarly, the Argentine artist and architect, through his suspended, alchemical installations, invites us to recognize beauty in the fragile balance between science, nature, and art, suggesting that sublimation is not only a physical process but also an act of elevating spirit and perception.
Tomás Saraceno, “ANIMA∞LE”, installation view at Pinksummer Contemporary Art, Genova. Photo credits: Alice Moschin, courtesy the artist and Pinksummer
In Saraceno’s suspended city, non-humans don’t merely inhabit elevated spaces—they also occupy the ground level, alternating alliances and mutations. Shadows become protagonists here: a small mouse casts the silhouette of a cat, a dog raising its paw transforms its shadow into a feline gesture. All shadows, stretched and overlapping, evoke cats as if animals share an “infinite soul,” a common essence vibrating in every presence. As visitors pass, the shadows of suspended objects merge with those of moving bodies, creating a visible connection between the sky, walls, and ground. In this ecosystem, we are not masters but guests, and it is the fauna that claims the stage. The artwork prompts us to question what it truly means to have a soul: Are we certain humans are the only beings possessing this quality? Or is it the animals who hold it, while we continue to unknowingly destroy all forms of life?
Tomás Saraceno, “ANIMA∞LE”, installation view at Pinksummer Contemporary Art, Genova. Photo credits: Alice Moschin, courtesy the artist and Pinksummer
In this dynamic and thought-provoking space, the contribution of Alberto Pesavento, co-founder of the Museo Aero Solar community and now a beekeeper, stands out. In the exhibition ANIMA∞LE, Pesavento presents the work Out-of-cell time (2024), an evocative composition of natural honeycombs created by bees inside a hive’s capping board, which Pesavento then placed upside down above the nest. Reflecting on this creation, Pesavento observes the behavior of bees, which sometimes venture out for brief explorations, carrying only essentials like wax and honey. “It seems that bees prefer to occupy this empty space rather than the one we usually provide them—a nest tailored to human dimensions,” he notes, prompting reflection on the complex relationship between humans and nature. This work fits seamlessly into Saraceno’s exploration of interconnection among species and the environment.
Tomás Saraceno, “ANIMA∞LE”, installation view at Pinksummer Contemporary Art, Genova. Photo credits: Alice Moschin, courtesy the artist and Pinksummer
Adjacent to the main hall, a smaller and more intimate space is dedicated to the world of spiders and their structures, acting as a natural extension of the larger room’s themes. Here, the experience becomes introspective, inviting interaction with the works. On the wall, two wooden sculptures vibrate at the touch of a hand, producing frequencies reminiscent of a heartbeat. In reality, these vibrations represent the waves of spiderwebs, translating arachnids’ tactile perceptions into sounds. This invitation allows us to “feel” the world from a spider’s perspective: vibrations become sinister yet hypnotic sounds, offering an alternative language that draws us closer to animal otherness. Spiderwebs take center stage in this space, installed along walls and ceilings. For the artist, these are not merely functional structures—they are poetic acts, declarations of love toward an interconnected, fragile yet resilient world. With their intricate and delicate patterns, spiderwebs symbolize a network of relationships transcending individuality, embodying an ecosystem where everything is interconnected.
Tomás Saraceno, “ANIMA∞LE”, installation view at Pinksummer Contemporary Art, Genova. Photo credits: Alice Moschin, courtesy the artist and Pinksummer
Whatever the room, every element conveys a sense of mutual contamination. The result is a world where humans are only temporary guests, while animals and their habitats reclaim their space and dignity. Saraceno envisions not merely coexistence between species but a true alliance—an achievable utopia where every form of life is an integral part of an inseparable whole. At the end of this journey, we ask ourselves again: Do animals possess a soul, or is it up to us to learn to recognize our own? The answer lies in the web, in the tangle of lives we inhabit and often destroy without realizing it. Saraceno’s vision urges us to desire not an abstract utopia but a single, real, sustainable, and shared ecosystem: the only one possible.
Info:
Tomás Saraceno, ANIMA∞LE
Pinksummer Contemporary Art
30.11.2024 – 28.02.2025
Palazzo Ducale, Cortile Maggiore, Genova
Hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 3:00 PM – 7:00 PM
pinksummer.com/tomas-saraceno
She graduated at the Academy of Fine Arts in Catania. During her lifetime, she has experienced various arts including sculpture, theatre, dance and photography, and the latter one became the springboard for her eclectic and innovative artistic path. In 2010, she approached the art curatorial world and started to write reviews and critical texts; later, she founded “Artisti Italiani – arti visive e promozione”, an organisation which deals with all the promotional aspects of contemporary art.
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