Donato Savin – La Vita attorno a me

Monday, July 28, 2025 – Thursday, April 30, 2026

Monday, July 28, 2025 – Thursday, April 30, 2026

Donato Savin’s exhibition “La vita attorno a me” is a tribute to Nature and invites us to explore a profound dialogue between the artist and the natural world around him. Born and raised in Cogne, in the heart of the Gran Paradiso National Park, Donato has transformed his life experiences and his connection with animals—both domestic and wild—into stone sculptures that tell stories of daily life and unspoiled nature.

The installations, distributed throughout Cogne’s iconic sites, invite visitors to discover the landscape in a new way: guided by stone and the vision of an artist capable of transforming the silence of the mountains into a voice. From the delicate mobile installations featuring birds, which come to life in the breeze on the Sant’Orso meadow, to the flock of sheep reborn from tuff brought to light by the flood, to the majestic ibex dominating the small square of the Miners’ Village, each work engages with its natural setting, offering a unique perspective on the relationship between humans and the environment.

Donato Savin was born and raised in Cogne, in the heart of the Gran Paradiso National Park. His life has been shaped by the mountains: from being a “dérèi bèadji” in the mountain pastures (the child who helped tend the flocks), to a young exhibitor at the Sant’Orso Fair, from a champion of “martze a pià” (the precursors to modern trail running) to a forest ranger, a bricklayer, and finally a sculptor. Or rather, he has always been a sculptor: from the time he molded mud as a child, to when, as a young man, he won his first prize at the Foire, right up to today, with a surprising artistic maturity recognized even beyond regional borders.

His choice to work with stone—a material that evokes the solidity and durability of his mountains—is a testament to his desire to create works that are in harmony with the landscape. His sculptures are not merely artistic representations but also visual narratives that tell the story of a territory and its natural heritage.

In Donato Savin’s artistic vision, stone becomes a place of revelation. His animal sculptures do not merely depict nature: they bring it to the surface, preserve it, and reveal its hidden essence, as if every vein in the rock held the deep breath of the living. In harmony with Heidegger’s thought, according to which a work of art is an opening of truth, Donato transforms stone into a living presence, capable of revealing the intimate bond between humanity and nature. He works it as an act of love. He seeks it out, observes it, gathers it along the Grand Eyvia stream, which flows sometimes placidly, sometimes tumultuously, beside his home in Epinel. He caresses it, never forcing it, but accompanying it as it reveals itself.Donato’s mentor in stoneworking was Renzo Abram. A miner born in 1944 who recently passed away, he was much more than just a brother-in-law to Donato Savin: he was a mentor, a guide, and a role model. He worked on a piecework basis in the Cogne mine, and thanks to his extraordinary physical strength, he was always among the top performers in terms of the number of meters of stone extracted. A man of few words and many deeds, it was he who taught Donato the basics of working with stone: how to split it, how to lay it, how to listen to it. Together they built part of the stone hut at the Epinel house. But he was also the one who urged him, with stubbornness and affection, not to abandon “that art of the useless” that Donato felt as a silent urgency. In the artist’s memories, when he speaks of Renzo with tears in his eyes, the realization emerges that it is the roots, the encounters, the figures who walk alongside us in life that make the difference. Renzo was twelve years older. He had married Donato’s sister.Donato’s mentor in stonework was Renzo Abram. A miner, Renzo took Donato with him to the mountain pasture at Pianès when he was a child, where he taught him the art of observation, silence, and respect for nature. Throughout his life, Renzo was a strong, constant presence and an unwitting source of inspiration for him. Renzo will not be able to see this exhibition—at least not with mortal eyes. But Donato is certain that he would have been, once again, proud of it.

For Donato, working with stone was a challenge against the material itself. There was a time when he believed that magnetite could not be carved—too dense, too rich in iron—it seemed unyielding, as if it were resisting art. But it was precisely from that resistance that a new strand of his artistic exploration emerged: out of playfulness, out of a sense of challenge, and out of a need to push beyond limits. The magnetite sculptures are among the heaviest, both physically and symbolically. A jumble of rock and metal, a compact body that the artist tackles with strength, a drill, and a healthy dose of risk. It is here that the material asserts itself and at the same time surrenders, allowing itself to be transformed into presence. In these works, stone is no longer merely a medium, but an antagonist and a traveling companion: a challenge won with respect and effort.

Donato’s clear, penetrating eyes reflect the Platonic idea of form preceding matter. His gaze does not observe the stone for what it is, but for what it can become. Donato’s hands recount the ancient gesture of sculpture, where strength and listening meet. The mallet does not strike: it questions. The chisel does not carve: it reveals. Each work is the result of a patient, almost meditative dialogue between the artist and the material. Donato’s smile is shy and sincere; it begins with his gaze and welcomes you in. It is the smile with which he opens the doors of his studio in Epinel, amid the scents of stone, wood, and freedom. A gesture of authentic simplicity that speaks volumes about his worldview.Donato Savin is an artist of international renown, capable of carving out a unique niche at the intersection of traditional craftsmanship and contemporary art. His roots lie in the Cogne Valley, among the rocks and wildlife of the Gran Paradiso, but his artistic language has evolved through travel, exhibiting across Europe, and drawing inspiration from encounters and influences that transcend geographical boundaries. His work springs from ancient knowledge, built on manual gestures, silent observation, and an attentiveness to materials and the rhythms of nature. Each sculpture is also a reflection on the present, a quest for formal simplicity that speaks a universal language, capable of engaging with contemporary art while remaining firmly rooted in the local landscape. It is precisely in this dual belonging—to the local and the global, to the past and the future—that the poetic power of Donato Savin lies: a “glocal” artist who, with his stones—granite, magnetite, tuff, onyx, green marble, gneiss—tells timeless stories in an essential, sober, and powerful language. A language capable of speaking to everyone, while remaining intimately tied to the territory that gave birth to it.

Now that he’s retired, his creative output is more intense than ever. He feels the passage of time within him, but he also feels—more strongly than ever—the need to keep creating. He continues to sculpt, driven by the urgency of someone who feels he still has so much to say, yet with the carefree spirit of someone swept up in a passion that consumes him entirely.

“It’s not a job, it’s not a passion: it’s a game!” This is how Donato likes to describe his relationship with sculpture. A surprising statement, especially given the power and seriousness of his works. But he himself explains the meaning of this phrase with a smile: “Maybe I didn’t play enough as a child, and now I’m simply making up for it.”

These words reflect the profound lightness of his artistic gesture: for him, sculpting is neither a duty nor a profession, but a free, instinctive, necessary act. Just like play, in fact: serious, vital, indispensable—just as… the Nature around him is.

A widespread exhibition, an immersive experience, a game of discovery in Cogne

The originality of Donato Savin’s art called for an equally original exhibition. His sculptures, born from listening to nature and deeply rooted in the local landscape, could not be confined to a traditional space. For this reason, we devised an innovative exhibition format that engages with the environment of Cogne and highlights its often-hidden or little-known corners.