Arts of the Earth
Guggenheim Museum Bilbao
May 2025 – 05. March 2026. (group show)
“I am vertical, but I would rather be horizontal”—so begins a poem by Sylvia Plath, in which the author, imagining herself lying among flowers and trees, expresses a deep yearning to merge with nature. Borrowing its title from this verse, the exhibition brings together six artists from diverse generations and backgrounds: Nadia Ayari, Molly Greene, Rose Lowder,
Isa Melsheimer, Emma Reyes, and Jacqueline Sotta.
Archaic plant forms, flamboyant flowers, cellular motifs evoking fictional flora… Through gestures infused with ecological thought and decentered perspectives, these artists seek to reimagine our relationship with the world of living. Guided by a longing for horizontality, they plant the seed of another vision—one without hierarchy, where curiosity and mutual care take root. A space in which nature is respected and species coexist in harmony.
A quiet manifesto, the exhibition unfolds as an ode to earthly poetry—revealing the invisible and honoring a world on the brink of disappearance.
curated by Manuel Cirauqui, Guggenheim Museum Bilbao
Installation view Photo: Erika Barahona Ede © Guggenheim Museum Bilbao