From 25 March to 18 May 2025
Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea
A desert suspended between dream and memory comes to life in Zzz…desert, an immersive installation in which time seems to stretch. Francesca Leone transforms reclaimed materials into an arid, dreamlike landscape populated by rocks and vibrant roses, symbols of fragility and resilience. The work stems from a childhood memory: accompanying her father, a film director, on film sets. Here, the desert is not merely a physical place, but an inner space, a territory for reflection and transformation.
In the suspended silence of the gallery, sound becomes an integral part of the work. Marco Turriziani’s compositions—the buzzing of bees, the whisper of the wind, the metallic resonance of the material—heighten the sense of suspension, amplifying the perception of a landscape poised between reality and imagination.
For more than fifteen years, Francesca Leone has explored the value of forgotten matter, reclaiming rusted sheets of metal and surfaces corroded by abandoned construction sites and deserted places. Through a patient process of transformation, what was once discarded becomes art, in a cycle of rediscovery and regeneration. The delicate use of colour suggests the possibility of renewal, even in the most arid of settings.
With Zzz…desert, the artist invites us to pause, offering an invitation to care—for objects, relationships and the environment. In an age dominated by speed and distraction, her work becomes an antidote to superficiality, a call to listen and observe, and to recognise the value of nature and its vulnerability.
Francesca Leone
Born into a family of artists, Francesca Leone lives and works in Rome. She has exhibited three times at the Venice Biennale, including her solo exhibition Take Your Time in 2022, presented as part of the Collateral Events. Her works have been shown at international institutions including the MOMMA in Moscow, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Santiago de Chile, MACBA in Buenos Aires and the Museum of Fine Arts in St Petersburg. In Italy, she has exhibited at the Triennale Milano, MACRO in Rome, the Reale Albergo dei Poveri in Palermo and the Gallerie d’Italia in Milan.
In 2023, she was selected by MAXXI and the Ministero della Cultura to represent Italy at the G20 in India, as part of the exhibition Together We Art at the Bihar Museum in Patna. In 2024, she was selected as the artist for the Italian Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka.
With the collaboration of Intesa Sanpaolo