UN SEME PROFONDO (A DEEP SEED)
Starting Tuesday, March 4, 2025, Studio Masiero in Milan, IT, presents Un seme profondo (A Deep Seed), a solo exhibition by Grazia Inserillo, curated by Gianna Panicola. With this exhibition, the gallery reaffirms its commitment to Sicilian art by welcoming an artist deeply rooted in her homeland’s traditions. Born in Isola delle Femmine (PA), Inserillo draws inspiration from fishing and embroidery, two pillars of local culture.
For the first time, Studio Masiero hosts a fiber art exhibition, a medium through which the artist explores the natural world. Thread and fabric become tools of investigation, evoking plant forms that range from past geological eras to marine mosses. Trained as a sculptor, Inserillo has reclaimed the artisanal knowledge passed down in her community, developing an autonomous artistic language influenced by Maria Lai, Louise Bourgeois, and Magdalena Abakanowicz.
The exhibition features five distinct series, each offering a unique interpretation of plant life: Linum, Organismi, Reviviscenze, Sempreverdi, and Fossili. As Panicola notes in the critical text, “Through embroidery, at times light and dotted, at times dense and vibrant, Inserillo reveals a natural world subjected to various stages and methodologies of processing.”
The two largest works, along with Linum viola, depict the flax cell observed under a microscope, with cotton and wool molecules seemingly floating within the cellular membrane. Organismi presents delicate embroideries on aged paper and shibori textile works inspired by plant fossils such as crinoids, ammonites, maritime pines, and conifers. In Reviviscenze, Inserillo reinterprets fossilized images of sea lilies on fragile papyrus sheets, using silk thread to evoke their delicate beauty. Sempreverdi showcases intricate embroideries of marine mosses on hand-felted merino wool, recreating the materiality of a miniature botanical landscape. Completing the exhibition are Il primo sole, Crosta lattea, and Catania—a map of the Sicilian city dominated by Mount Etna—as well as textile sculptures in wool and plaster and a series of engravings.
The title “Un seme profondo” (A Deep Seed) alludes to the artist’s process of exploration and transformation: a journey into the depths of the earth to uncover plant microcosms destined to proliferate, dissolve, or fossilize over time. Her research, enriched by botanical studies and microscopic observations, merges art and science, material and memory. Through thread and weaving, Inserillo breathes life into natural fabrics such as linen, hemp, and papyrus, combining them with traditional dyeing techniques and shibori. Embroidery, an ancient and deeply feminine practice, takes on an anthropological significance in her work, reconnecting her to the land and its origins.
The exhibition will be open until April 30, 2025, including weekends by appointment.
Grazia Inserillo (Palermo, 1988) graduated at the Academy of Fine Arts in her hometown. She lives and works in Padua, where she teaches plastic-sculptural disciplines and focuses on contemporary textile art. Growing up in Isola delle Femmine, surrounded by fishing nets and family embroidery, she uses thread to explore the anthropological concept of existence and inhabiting space.
She has exhibited in group shows across Italy, Germany, France, and the United States, with solo exhibitions in Palermo (2016), Trapani (2017), Bagheria and New York (2020), Scicli and Vicenza (2023). Among her accolades, she received the FAM Award (2016) and the BID Award (2017). Her textile installations are part of permanent collections in Italian and international museums.
Her new solo exhibition, A Deep Seed, curated by Gianna Panicola, opens on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, at 6:30 PM at Studio Masiero in Milan (via Villoresi 28). It will be on view until April 30, 2025.
How to get there: Metro Line 2 (Green), stop Romolo | Bus towards Famagosta, stop Carlo Torre/Villoresi
More info at www.monicamasiero.it | info@monicamasiero.it
