All arts institutions want their works to engage with local communities, but not all manage to take their works into these local communities. That’s precisely what the Orobie Biennial is addressing, organised by Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Bergamo (GAMeC). This is made all the more challenging as Bergamo sits in the foothills of the Alps, and many of these communities are situated within the mountains, so you have to drive up many switchback turns to get to them.
Julius von Bismarck has taken a mine that is no longer in use for mining, which was an essential part of the community, and rather than creating a depiction of the mine, he has etched directly onto it. Using black and white, he has transformed a three-dimensional mine into a two-dimensional image when viewed from a particular perspective.
Another highlight is Bianca Bondi, who has taken a de-consecrated church, not used since 1942, and filled it with dancing figures – based on the casts of locals. They are headless to remain anonymous, and plants spring forth from their necks in a nod to Old Master paintings such as Botticelli’s Primavera. The dancing figures reflect that the church once banned dancing, and these figures dance upon mounds of salt – a material associated with purification that is often added to holy water. It’s a reconciliation of tradition and religion.
You must enter a barn to seek out Gaia Fugazza’s human figure, with tiny people sitting on its outstretched arms. The work is titled Mother of Millions after a plant that propagates through tiny plantlets appearing on its leaves, which the artwork imitates. It’s also made of clay, and our minds naturally think this work references creation stories where humans are made from the Earth. The work highlights the close connection between humans and the natural world, which feels fitting when you’re breathing in the fresh mountain air.
These are three of my highlights, but what unites them is that they aren’t simply placing contemporary art in the landscape; they engage with local history and communities to ensure the works fit with their surroundings, yet never dominate them.
Other notable works include a mural of local migratory birds by Agnese Galiotto and an energetic performance of a piece by Cecilia Bengolea, which has clear nods to the local people living off the land in pre-industrial times.
The biggest name in the Biennial is Maurizio Cattelan, and his works are in the city of Bergamo, bringing his trademark irreverence and humour to the biennial. A young boy sits on the shoulders of a statue of Garibaldi, his fingers in the shape of a gun, perhaps as a nod to the fact that most revolutions often involve violence. An eagle lies fallen inside a building, once a symbol of empires, but now lying helpless. He’s also placed a urinating homeless man within a museum of frescoes – immortalising in statuary marble a sight we often look away from.
The Cattelan works are probably further removed from the theme of the biennial, ‘thinking like a mountain’, but they do bring some levity and, I imagine, controversy to the event.
One criticism of the biennial is that you’d have to spend a lot of time in a car to see it all, and one piece, a bivouac at the top of the mountain, is often inaccessible to anyone who isn’t a skilled alpinist. However, that would miss the point; it’s not a biennial like Venice, which is designed for visitors to see as much of it as they can. It’s a biennial for the local community; it’s designed for and with them, we’re just visiting.
This cycle of exhibitions and interventions is the fifth and final cycle of the biennial, and it would be a shame if there weren’t another biennial to come. It’s a rare event that puts locals first, rather than prioritising foreign visitors, and it features some great artists and artworks. If this is what it’s like to think like a mountain, then more of us should start thinking this way.
Thinking like a Mountain: The Orobie Biennial runs until 18th January 2026 in Bergamo, Italy, and the surrounding areas.
First image of work by Bianca Bondi. Second: Gaia Fugazza. Third: Maurizio Cattelan. All images are courtesy GAMeC – Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Bergamo. First two photos: Nicola Gnesi Studio. Third photo: Lorenzo Palmieri.
