Alan Sonfist (New York, 1946 – )
The artist Alan Sonfisthas narrated his encounter with Celle in a text written for the first catalogue of the Environmental Art Collection:”Giuliano Gori, our ‘Medici’ of the 20th century, met me at the gate of his magnificent Villa Celle. Slowly we walked through the park of sweet-scented, exotic trees whose shadows created a cool, mysterious environment. […] When I awoke in the sunlight I walked out through the dew in the to the first hill pointing towards heaven. That hill spoke to me and we agreed to begin the sculpture.”
Following the site selection, there was a period of historical and botanical study. Subsequently, the artist dedicated himself to drawing to plan the work, simultaneously creating a portfolio of eight engravings. Each of the prints represents a phase of his process, from the personal concept to the universal one, to the definition of each of his “Circles of Time.”