Museo Novecento is pleased to announce the first solo exhibition in an Italian institution of American artist and environmentalist Haley Mellin, recognized for her dedication to painting and land conservation. The exhibition “Siamo Natura,” curated by Sergio Risaliti and Stefania Rispoli, will open to the public on Tuesday, June 24, through Wednesday, Oct. 29.

Haley Mellin is the founder of the non-profit initiative Art into Acres, which has mobilized artists to support the Indigenous- and locally-led protection of over 30 million hectares of old-growth forests through artist-driven fundraising. 

These efforts have contributed to the formation of national parks, protected areas, including indigenous ones, and community conservation territories-that is, spaces dedicated to the protection of biodiversity and legal recognition of lands in favor of local historic communities. For the first time, Mellin’s work with Art into Acres is presented as activist art, inseparable from her painting and drawing.

While participating in land conservation, Mellin creates detailed artworks of the very landscapes she helps protect. Her paintings often exhibit a subtle, almost disappearing hand, emphasizing the rich and varied nature of the places she depicts. “Art is about the preservation of a concept, a way of being, a history, a testimony, a heritage,” Mellin reflects. “Painting, for me, is about preserving a particular state of mind—a way of being in and with nature. It’s about paying homage, not distorting; about spending time, observing, studying, and listening as nature speaks.”

The Florence exhibition brings together her artworks and environmental projects, offering a compelling meditation on their interconnection. It highlights Mellin’s commitment to documenting protected landscapes through direct observation and small-scale painting. She works seasonally in outdoor studios, minimizing emissions by forgoing electricity, heating, and cooling. “Land conservation, as a practice, is invisible,” Mellin says. “When done well, there is no trace of your presence—life continues to unfold as it has for millennia.”

Alongside the exhibition, Haley Mellin is collaborating with the Museo Novecento on the Giardino delle Leopoldine. Launching on June 24, the project has seen the planting of approximately 300 native plants over the past month in the museum’s historic cloister garden, following research into its original layout and usage.