Davide Puma. I, Nature – The Divine Mechanics
From 4 July to 25 July 2026, Palazzo Vecchio, Florence.
From 4 to 25 July, Palazzo Vecchio in Florence is set to host “IO NATURA – La meccanica divina”, a solo exhibition by the artist Davide Puma. Recognised as one of the most poetic figures in contemporary Italian art, Puma brings an extraordinary selection of works to the Tuscan capital.
Curated by Sara Taglialagamba and organised in collaboration with the City of Florence, the exhibition showcases Davide Puma’s artistic practice. His artistic language, which blends painterly mark-making, symbolism and poetic reflection, engages naturally with the Florentine cultural tradition and Renaissance Neoplatonic thought. Here, beauty transcends mere aesthetics to become the manifestation of a profound ethical and spiritual dimension.
The title is a tribute to Leonardo da Vinci and his famous signature, ‘I, Leonardo’.
In this space, nature both creates and is created, moving amidst a symphony of colours and a dance of elements. The subtitle, ‘The Divine Mechanics’, offers an important interpretative key that introduces us to an idealised and spiritual conception of nature. Thus emerges a universal language populated by figures born of the artist’s personal creative process: the Saint, the High Priestess, the Lady with the Flamingo, the Centaur, the Flowered Fish and the Guardians of the Threshold. As in medieval bestiaries, the canvases also feature iconic elements such as the lily, a symbol of purity and a profound tribute to the city of Florence.
The artist states: “Mine is an invitation to be reborn into a new life. As in the famous Latin motto, *Lux me regit* (light guides me), in my paintings the human being is a divine being who has attained the awareness of being so. The whole is one, because we are both created and creators. All elements take part in this dance – fish, stars and elementary particles alike – where the micro and macro meet. Being able to convey this message through painting, which is an ancient medium, is very important to me, and lies at the heart of my artistic exploration.”
Curator Sara Taglialagamba adds: “In Puma’s visions, a cosmogony of energy, elements, matter and atoms is created; as these collide with one another, they catapult the viewer into an ideal world entirely dominated by nature, populated by metamorphic animals under the protection of primordial goddesses.”
In keeping with a philosophical concept that has its roots in antiquity, Puma presents the idea of the universe as a living organism in a state of constant flux, the result of mechanical interactions between elementary particles.
It is precisely through reflection on the themes of movement, change and the ceaseless transformation of nature that the artist manages to shape his personal understanding of the world and to contribute to our understanding of that ‘mechanics of the universe’ which underlies all his paintings.
This divine eurythmy finds expression in his gardens, which thus become idealised and ideal places of creation, shedding their figurative meaning and assuming the role of archetypes.
“In Puma’s mind, his gardens are the place where the primordial symbols of the universe manifest themselves and where his creatures dwell; through constant metamorphoses, these creatures become imbued with hidden meanings and allegories.”
Official link: https://www.comune.firenze.it/novita/area-stampa/comunicati-stampa/io-natura-la-meccanica-divina-palazzo-vecchio-la-mostra-di
THE ARTIST
Davide Puma – Born in San Remo in 1971, in recent years he has held solo exhibitions both nationally and internationally, and has taken part in art fairs in Europe and the United States. In 2012, he took part in the Venice Biennale (Turin Exhibition Hall), curated by Vittorio Sgarbi. Since 2013, his work has been part of the permanent collection of the MACS Museum (Museum of Contemporary Art of Sicily).
In 2014, he created the painting of San Tommaso Reggio for Ventimiglia Cathedral, where it is on permanent display. The following year, he was invited by the Italian Cultural Institute in Kyoto to take part in the DIM Festival, as the sole artist representing Italian figurative art. In 2023, he created *Manifesto-Amore a cielo aperto*, curated by Stefania Morici, with a special contribution from Mario Biondi. He has collaborated with art galleries in Italy, France (Paris), the United Kingdom (London), Switzerland (Geneva) and Japan (Kyoto). He lives and works in Italy, his country of origin.
