On August 1st, the exhibition XILOMONSTERS. Espansione xilogenetica e mostrificazione del paesaggio. Prodigi e moniti, legni pensanti e tronchi encefalici opens to the public.
The project has been organized by Dolomiti Contemporanee (DC) at the evocative Nuovo Spazio di Casso al Vajont, within the framework of Dolomiti Days 2026 (an initiative promoted by the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia).
The exhibition explores two thematic cores: Xylogenesis and the Monstrification of Landscape. Xylogenesis refers to a project launched in 2025, aimed at restoring nineteenth-century wooden books from the Trevisan Xyloteca. This repertoire constitutes a precious heritage of forest botany, now preserved at the Lucio Susmel Centre for Alpine Environmental Studies of the University of Padua, in San Vito di Cadore (a partner institution of Dolomiti Contemporanee).
Photo credit: https://www.xilogenesi.net/il-restauro/
Photo credit: https://www.xilogenesi.net/il-restauro/
Once the first phase of safeguarding the Xyloteca was completed, 44 contemporary artists were invited to enter into dialogue with this botanical repertoire. On that occasion, the artistic works had to meet specific requirements: fitting either the A4 drawing format or the dimensions established for the artist's book the same measurements as the original nineteenth-century volumes.
The exhibition at the Nuovo Spazio di Casso al Vajont in August 2026, by contrast, sets formats free, giving the 50 participating artists the opportunity to choose their preferred medium. The show will bring together paintings, tapestries, installations, and video works, all engaging in dialogue with the Xylogenesis project. As for the Monstrification of Landscape, it is a recurring theme for Dolomiti Contemporanee a pressing and critical subject that stands in opposition to overtourism and the commodification of the mountains. Among the artists taking part in the exhibition will be Bruno Fantelli and Denis Riva.
