Villa del Arte is proud to announce that our artist Mari Ito has been selected by the jury to present her installation Florecer Contra la Bomba at Nave Escoleta, Palo Alto Barcelona, with the opening on September 10 at 7 p.m.
The year 2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, when the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki signaled the beginning of the nuclear age.
“I was born in Japan in 1980. I did not live through the war, but I inherited its memories through my grandparents. Later, the earthquake and nuclear accident of 2011, the war in Ukraine, the conflict in Gaza… All of them made me relive the same fear: the nuclear threat, destruction, the repetition of mistakes.
Why do we keep falling into the same patterns, despite all the pain already endured?
Throughout my career, I have explored the origins of human desire, using vivid colors to represent not only pleasure but also sadness and anger.
A constant motif in my work has been the flower, often accompanied by faces, as a way to visualize invisible emotions and delve into the inner world of human beings.
Bloom Against the Bomb is an installation to say enough. A visual outcry: no to weapons, no to war.
In this indoor exhibition, I create an installation centered on the symbolic figure of the atomic mushroom cloud, reinterpreted through my artistic language.
Through sculptural elements, I want to express opposing emotions such as destruction and regeneration, helplessness and hope, with the intention of connecting with the memory and imagination of each viewer.”
A piece meant to stir emotions, activate memory, and awaken imagination.
This installation has been carried out with the support of Fundació Palo Alto and in collaboration with Villa del Arte Galleries.