Botanical Garden Museum inaugurates art installation “Mangrove”

This Saturday (December 6), at 10:30 a.m., the Botanical Garden Museum will inaugurate the installation “Manguezal” (Mangrove), which features the sculpture Radici di Mangrovia (Mangrove Roots), created by Italian artists Mariagrazia Abbaldo and Paolo Albertelli, never before seen by the Rio de Janeiro public. In dialogue with the work, the painting “Mangue I” (Mangrove I) by Roberto Burle Marx and a video installation with an information panel create a space where art and science come together to expand knowledge about this coastal ecosystem.

The sculpture was created for the exhibition “Natureza Transformada” (Transformed Nature), presented at Casa Fiat de Cultura in Belo Horizonte from April to June this year, and is now being donated to idg - Instituto de Desenvolvimento e Gestão (Institute for Development and Management), responsible for managing the Botanical Garden Museum. During the exhibition, the Botanical Garden Museum was represented by the installation “Copa, Casa, Cosmos” (Cup, Home, Cosmos).

Radici di Mangrovia was created as a tribute to the biodiversity and symbolic power of mangroves. Its intertwined shapes evoke the roots of mangroves—structures that are vital for protecting the waters, fauna, and communities that depend on them. "The Museum has been working with different languages to raise public awareness of our biodiversity. That is why we celebrate in this installation the union between art and science to promote our flora and the importance of mangroves in protecting marine life," says Daniela Alfonsi, director of museology at idg, responsible for managing the Botanical Garden Museum.

In addition to its aesthetic strength, the work carries a sense of permanence: the Corten steel, a highly durable and resistant material, allows the sculpture to withstand time and weather without losing its integrity, contributing to its own narrative and to sustainable practices. Massimo Cavallo, president of Casa Fiat de Cultura, emphasizes: "This donation initiative, which led to the Museum's new exhibition, reinforces the importance of partnerships between cultural institutions. By integrating with the architecture and landscape of the Botanical Garden Museum, Radici di Mangrovia renews the cultural exchange between Brazil and Italy and reaffirms the commitment to valuing essential themes for the future, such as the preservation of life and the environment."

The initiative highlights the importance of mangroves as a nursery for marine life, a shelter for hundreds of species of fauna, and a natural barrier against extreme events caused by climate change, an important link to the research carried out at the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden, comments Marinez Siqueira, director of the National School of Tropical Botany. In addition, mangroves also provide sustenance for traditional peoples and other coastal populations. Brazil has the largest continuous belt of mangroves on the planet, whose roots, trunks, and branches sequester four times more carbon—known as “blue carbon”—than the rainforest.

The installation reaffirms the Botanical Garden Museum's commitment to environmental education and scientific dissemination, conveying to visitors the importance of plants and biodiversity conservation through its thematic axes: art, science, culture, and nature.

About the artists

Mariagrazia Abbaldo and Paolo Albertelli are Italian architects and artists, founders of Studio C&C, in Turin. Since 1997, they have been developing sculptures and installations that explore the relationship between space, nature, and architecture. Using techniques such as laser cutting and metal fusion, their works have been exhibited in institutions in Italy, France, Switzerland, and the United States, and are part of collections such as the Museo Nazionale della Montagna and the Messner Mountain Museum.

About Casa Fiat de Cultura

With 19 years of experience, Casa Fiat de Cultura is a national reference for hosting exhibitions of great artistic and historical-cultural relevance. It has presented more than 100 exhibitions by Brazilian and international artists—including Caravaggio, Rodin, Chagall, Tarsila, Portinari, and Rembrandt—and maintains an educational program with accessibility features such as 3D replicas, Braille materials, and sign language services. Located in the Palácio dos Despachos in Belo Horizonte, it is part of the Circuito Liberdade and permanently houses Portinari's Civilização Mineira panel.

Mangrove Installation
Opening: Saturday, December 6, at 10:30 a.m.
Botanical Garden Museum
Rua Jardim Botânico, 1008 – Jardim Botânico, Rio de Janeiro
Free admission