The Museo Novecento of Florence hosts the first solo exhibition in an Italian institution of American artist and environmentalist Haley Mellin, recognized for her dedication to painting and land conservation.
Haley Mellin is the founder of the non-profit initiative Art into Acres, which has mobilized artists to support the Indigenous- and locally-led protection of over millions hectares of old-growth forests through artist-driven fundraising.
For the first time, Mellin’s work with Art into Acres is presented as activist art, inseparable from her painting and drawing.
The Florence exhibition brings together her artworks and environmental projects, offering a compelling meditation on their interconnection. It highlights Mellin’s commitment to documenting protected landscapes through direct observation and small-scale painting. She works seasonally in outdoor studios, minimizing emissions by forgoing electricity, heating, and cooling.
Alongside the exhibition, Haley Mellin is collaborating with the Museo Novecento on the Giardino delle Leopoldine. Launching on June 24, the project has seen the planting of approximately 300 native plants over the past month in the museum’s historic cloister garden, following research into its original layout and usage.