Pirelli HangarBicocca
Via Chiese, 2
20126 Milan
Italien
Hicham Berrada
Curated by Vicente Todolí with Tatiana Palenzona
Hicham Berrada: the artist
Through a rigorous scientific approach, Hicham Berrada (Casablanca, Morocco, 1986; lives and works in Paris) creates sculptures and installations that merge the laws of physics with evocative scenery, and mathematical formulas with dreamlike settings.
Drawing from the history of cinema, the aesthetics of video games, as well as studies in botany and mineralogy, the artist constructs immersive environments that redefine the boundaries between art and science.
Far from austere, Berrada’s practice revolves around a profound reflection on the forces that govern nature and the impossibility of fully controlling them. Like a chemist, his work is rooted in data analysis and the creation of controlled environments to observe their evolution. At the same time, like an alchemist, he contemplates processes of transformations that, once initiated, escape control. By precisely managing physical phenomena such as magnetism, light, and temperature, the artist orchestrates mesmerizing landscapes where extraordinary natural forms emerge.
These visual phantasmagorias arise from events deeply anchored in reality: Berrada’s works play with paradox, blur the line between reality and imagination, and reveal how many aspects of the world are inherently fantastical—inviting viewers to rediscover the charm of what appears to be ordinary. His pieces are not mere representations of the phenomenal reality, but active collaborations with it: environments that become stages for the mutability of matter.
The exhibition by Hicham Berrada at Pirelli HangarBicocca
For his largest exhibition to date—and for the first time in an Italian institution—Berrada will present a selection of his most emblematic creations at Pirelli HangarBicocca. Situated somewhere between a scientific laboratory, a Wunderkammer, and cinematic set, the Shed space will host the artist’s multisensory landscapes. Within a darkened environment, photographic prints and video projections will interact with glass vitrines, within which the spectacle of nature will unfold.
