In the Courtyard of Palazzo Strozzi, DRIFT’s Floral Anthem
How contemporary is Renaissance architecture? And how Renaissance is contemporary architecture? The Dutch duo DRIFT attempts to answer this question with their spectacular site-specific installation titled “Shy Society”, set in the courtyard of Palazzo Strozzi. Known for their performative projects that intertwine art, nature, and technology, the two artists play with boundaries, pushing the limits between installation, sculpture, and music. The final effect is an immersive theater for a performance where artistic expression blends with science and, most importantly, with nature. The initiative draws inspiration from flowers and plants that close at night and reopen at dawn as a defense mechanism to conserve their resources (a natural phenomenon called “nyctinasty”).
“Shy Society” was inaugurated the other evening as part of the Palazzo Strozzi Future Art program, in collaboration with the Fondazione Hillary Merkus Recordati. At the Florentine opening, in addition to the two artists Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta, we also met, among others, Arturo Galansino, General Director of the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi, Sara Funaro, Mayor of Florence, and Maurizio Ferrara and Carlo Ceccarelli from the Fondazione Hillary Merkus Recordati.
All gathered on the banks of the Arno to admire this homage to nature, composed of seven large elements that gracefully open and close in the open courtyard space, set to music by the contemporary American composer RZA. There’s time to admire the dance of “Shy Society” until January 26.
Text: Germano D’Acquisto
Portraits: Ludovica Arcero
Exhibition views: Ela Bialkowska, OKNO Studio
