ABOUT ME
I am an Italian artist living and working near Venice. My practice has evolved from painting towards ecological art, land art and site-specific installation, while photography remains an important part of my research.
Painting was the starting point of my artistic research, together with a lasting fascination with trees, forests and landscapes. Over time, the boundaries of the canvas became less defined, leading me towards working directly with places, materials and ecological processes. Painting and photography remain important parts of my practice, alongside installation and land art.
WORKING WITH NATURE
I work through observation, research and experimentation, allowing the character of a place and its materials to influence the development of each work. Natural elements are not simply subjects or materials; they can become active participants in a process that remains open to change.
ART, SCIENCE & RESEARCH
My research extends into ecology, science, anthropology and philosophy. I am interested in how humans perceive, classify and assign meaning to the living world, and in what can emerge when different forms of knowledge meet.
Through installation, land art, painting and photography, I seek to create situations for a slower form of looking — spaces in which attention can shift towards relationships, transformation and the complex systems of which we are part.
EDUCATION
Ida Harm studied Humanities at the Lycée before completing a degree in Educational Sciences, with a focus on cultural processes. She subsequently completed a Master's degree in Developing Countries and pursued studies in Visual Anthropology at the University of Venice.
CV
Born Dolo, Venice (Italy) in 1977.
2002- 2010
Istruzione / Education
Classical Studies Diploma
Degree in Educational Science (socio-cultural), full grades -Padua Univ.
Perfectioning in International Cooperation, Padua Univ.
Studies in Anthropology, Venice University
Studies at Wheaton College, MA-USA
Borse / Grants / Premi /Prizes
Fullbright Grant, TA at Italian Dept. Wheaton College, MA (USA)
LEONARDO Grant (Ireland).
UNESCO School Net Grant (Rome)
Studiotopia, Finalist
TAN. Teolo Arte Natura, Selected
SELECTED SOLOS EXHIBITS
•Scuderie di Palazzo Moroni, Padova: Humus Sapiens: wunderkammer di semi, animali, pietre. In collaborazione con l'Ass. alla Cultura del Comune di Padova. 2025
•Orticolario, Villa Erba, Como: Eden 2025
•DolomitiHub, Vegetal typography: underwood of silent writings, Fonzaso, Belluno, IT 2025
•Orticolario, Villa Erba, Como: Humus Sapiens 2024
•Cultural Centre, S. Gaetano, Padua: Tree stories 2017
•Art Museum Rimoldi, Cortina, Belluno: Motherhood of the forests 2018
•Villa Vescovi, Padua. FAI: The Landscape Festival 2017
•Callegari Museum, Arquà Petrarca, Padua: Gardens 2018
•L'Occhio Gallery, Venice: Trees 2017
ART FAIRS IN: WIEN, INNSBRUCK, MILAN, PARIS, PADUA, ETC
SELECTED COLLECTIVE EXHIBITS
•TAN, Euganean Nature Park with A. Destro: Aquae (2026)
•ARTE SELLA, The Contemporary Mountain, (ELAN member) Trento: Vaia’s scream (2019)
•KUNST HAUS MERAN, Museum of Contemporary Art (AMACI member): Zoocohory (2023)
•TRAUTTMANSDORF BOTANICAL GARDENS, UN 10yrs Report on Biodiversity : Seedbombing (2020)
•INDUSTRIE FLUVIALI CULTURAL HUB, Rome: 350 mt (2023)
•OPEN AIR MUSEUM, Natural Park of the Po River Delta, Rovigo: Evoluzioni (2022)
•UNESCO BOTANICAL GARDENS, Padua: Vaia Storm (2019)
•DIOCESAN MUSEUM, Naturae Festival Feltre: Aegritudo Naturae
IMAGOARS GALLERY: Trilogy of Purity, Venice
•VILLA PISANI MUSEUM, Stra,Venice: Il richiamo della Foresta
•ARBOREALISTS, UK: local shows with members (2018-19)
Testi di / Written texts by:
Tiziano Fratus, Telmo Pievani, Ottorino del Lucchi, Stefano Fenoglio, Matteo Melchiorre, Davide Pettenella, Lucia Mayer, Gabriele Scorzoni, Pierantonio Tanzola
INTERVIEW
Let's start from the roots, how did your story begin and who are the people who have inspired you the most in the artistic and professional fields?
There have always been new beginnings, each of which has added a piece to my identity. Seeds, wool, reflections, waves, wind, roots, leaves, algae, sand, rocks, veins, cobwebs, footprints, sounds, streams, rain, soil, humus, insects, bark, sawdust, ash, hair, scratches, surfaces, fragments, rice, wax, milk... All those artists who love to deal with this kind of material.
How does nature inspire your projects and your lifestyle?
The Western world, from Aristotle onwards, has relegated the natural world to the form of an "object" because it lacks logos/word. And therefore, it has denied it all rights by plundering it, using it, making use of it for every type of need. But how would a human thought have evolved that also included the non-human as having “subjectivity”, therefore rights and legal status and that was written down in a “Natural Contract” (M. Serre): a pact of symbiosis with forests, rivers, seas, mountains having the right to existence, to their own regeneration and maintenance of life cycles, of their own structures, of their own functions and evolutionary processes.
What does evolved gardening mean to you?
The work that I am presenting at Orticolario “Humus Sapiens” relativizes what we consider “evolved” (i.e. the genus Homo) to put back in the right place what has truly evolved in 4.5 billion years (Humus). Our “wisdom” will manifest itself only when we are able to give value (not price) to things starting from those on which we depend. “5cm” of humus could be a good start.
What if I could pay homage to the earth? and how would you define it?
One for all: *méh₂tēr (< Indo-European root of “mother”).
I would uproot concrete, graft roots, scatter seeds and make it rain.
- ORTICOLARIO, TERRAE 2024
