Alan Sonfist’s solo exhibition Seeds of Time was shown at PAV Parco Arte Vivente 15.05 – 19.10.2025. 

Seeds of Time is the first institutional solo exhibition of Alan Sonfist in Italy, curated by Marco Scotini. Born in 1946, the American artist Alan Sonfist’s work has always focused on the relationship between art and ecology, pioneering a dialogue that has been influential for both contemporary discourse and the historical context of the Land Art movement. Seeds of Time explores the formative years of Sonfist’s career, focusing on the 1960s and 70s, and highlighting the groundbreaking nature of his work.

In his work, Sonfist expands the concept of community to include non-human beings and sees his installations as “public monuments” that no longer commemorate human history alone but celebrate the entire natural ecosystem. In doing so, he revitalises environmental history and the various species in any one location. Describing himself as a visual archaeologist capable of bringing the past into the present, Sonfist frequently collaborates with scientists, biologists, policymakers, urban planners, and architects in a collective process that can last several years before reaching full realisation. In contrast to other Land Art artists, Sonfist has always focused on the interaction of nature within urban ecosystems—a concept considered radical at the time. This has led him to view the present as a complex ecosystem rooted not only in human history but also in that of plants, animals, and minerals.

Seeds of Time opens with a newly commissioned installation produced especially for this exhibition. Growth Between the Cracks (2025) emerged from the active involvement of the local community invited by the artist to collect soil samples from the liminal spaces around the city of Turin. The installation maps a fragmented outline of the city and narrates its history through the plants—both indigenous and from other geographical areas—that will grow throughout the duration of the exhibition.

The exhibition also presents a core selection of photographs documenting some of Sonfist’s early environmental interventions, beginning with his renowned Time Landscape (1965—ongoing). Designed in Manhattan, New York City, in collaboration with a large community of experts, Time Landscape consists of a forest of precolonial plants, which over the years has become home to numerous plant and animal species—a living public monument in continuous transformation. In Circles of Time (1986), one of Sonfist’s most ambitious and complex projects, the artist documents the history of the Tuscan landscape through seven concentric rings, each representing a different phase in land use.

Explore the exhibition booklet on the website of PAV.