Paradoxical totems

The Corten steel sculpture, approximately three meters tall, belongs to the Paradoxical Totems series by Andrea Conte (Andreco), a project the artist has been developing for over twenty years. The totems feature impossible, imaginative combinations in which elements such as clouds, sand, or meteorites take on paradoxical and symbolic forms, leaving room for open interpretation.

Inspired by the thought of John Dewey, the work is not merely an aesthetic object but an exercise in understanding the world: it invites reflection on the relationships between humans and non-humans, transforming “vibrant matter” into experience and meaning. This Paradoxical Totem thus acquires an almost magical value, reinforced by the numerical square that supports it.

Andrea Conte

Andrea Conte, known as Andreco, is a visual artist with a scientific background in Environmental Engineering and academic collaborations on nature-based solutions and green infrastructure. His multidisciplinary artistic research explores the relationship between urban space and landscape, between the human and the non-human, through symbolic languages and diverse techniques (installations, performances, sculpture, painting, video, and public art).

He has conceived projects such as Climate Art Project, dedicated to climate and social justice, and Flumen, focused on water bodies and their regeneration. His work has been featured in major international events including the 2018 Venice Biennale, the 2024 Malta Biennale of Art, and the 2025 Milan Triennale. His research Future Environments was selected by the Italian Council 13 for the 2024–2025 biennium.

Over the course of his career, he has received several awards and recognitions, including the Talent Prize (2017) and Jazzi (2016), and his work has been published in Nature Scientific Reports. Some of his creations are part of the collections of MAMbo – Museo d’Arte Moderna di Bologna and Centro Pecci in Prato.