On the twentieth anniversary of his death, Alfonso Sella (born in Rome in 1913 and died in Biella in 2001) is told through his passions and interests, which ranged from botany to art, from photography to language, in the exhibition set up at the Spazio Cultura of the Crb Foundation in Biella. Simply entitled “Alfonso Sella, artist and scientist”, the itinerary is curated by DocBi, and in particular by Giovanni Vachino, with the precious collaboration of Mattia Sella, son of Alfonso, who made most of the works and materials available exposed. In an indirect way, the exhibition also remembers Ada, who has always supported her husband in his many interests and was the refined creator of the wonderful herbaria.
“The path – comments Giovanni Vachino – does not proceed chronologically, but by themes, and aims to highlight the multiple interests of Alfonso Sella and the scientific approach with which he devoted himself”. The visit begins in the section dedicated to art with a series of canvases and sculpted stones that were exhibited for the first time in the city in the 70s by Omar Ronda, in his gallery. The path continues with various drawings, which tell of his approach to art. Then we come to the herbaria, the more artistic ones, because the scientific ones were donated by the family to the Museum of Natural Sciences in Turin.
«The artistic herbaria – continues Vachino – offer a perfect example of the encounter between science and art. The collected and dried plant parts were in fact placed on painted backgrounds, giving shape to objects of considerable aesthetic impact. One of the most beautiful is the one that features a white duvet, positioned on a completely black background, crossed by lines that intersect, creating an image that recalls an abstract painting ». In the last room, thanks to the material made available by the Sella Foundation, the great research work that Alfonso Sella has carried out on the terms of the local dialect is presented and documented. The Dapb (Dizionario Atlante delle Parlate Biellesi), a work to which he dedicated almost half a century, is made up of 47,000 paper cards, 12×17 cm in size, drawn up in duplicate and collected in 33 wooden boxes of 50x15x19 cm. This work also allows us to tell the story of the photographer Alfonso Sella, who used photography for scientific and documentation purposes. The images he shot served in fact to better explain the objects, traditions and architectures mentioned in the cards.
«Another important photographic work of his – adds Vachino – is that relating to the images taken in the 1960s, which document glimpses of the territory that have completely changed. A selection of these photos, with the title of “Biellese perduto”, was exhibited in 1998 at the Fabbrica della Ruota di Pray ». Among the works on display, a tapestry has a particular significance, which is perhaps the point of origin of Alfonso Sella’s love for herbaria. It is a work made by her mother Edvige, who used to keep the flowers and herbs that her son brought home, sewing them precisely on a canvas and embroidering, next to each specimen, the relative name. The visits will continue until Sunday 28: from Monday to Friday (10.30-12.30 and 16-17.30), Saturday and Sunday (16-19).