Francesca Leone, ambassador of Italian art at G20

Rome-based artist Francesca Leone has been selected by MAXXI Museum on behalf of Italy's Ministry of Culture to showcase her work at the upcoming G20 Summit in India, themed "One Earth, One Family, One Future." Her pieces will join those of 50 international artists in the exhibition "Together We Art" at Bihar Museum (Patna, August 7–23), before traveling to National Museum (New Delhi, September 7–October 7).

"I am deeply honored by this invitation," Leone told ANSA, "and grateful to the curators and MAXXI’s director for entrusting me with this role." Known for her use of reclaimed materials and environmental consciousness, Leone will present an installation of three giant steel roses—crafted from salvaged corrugated metal sourced from shacks and abandoned buildings—symbolizing humanity’s relationship with nature. The roses are in different shapes and colors: the largest rose is vibrantly painted and meticulously restored, representing nature healed through care; the middle rose is partially rusted with visible holes and tears, embodying partial or neglected intervention; the smallest rose is fully corroded, its form nearly dissolved, evoking irreversible decay. "This progression mirrors how artists transform materials—and how humanity can either nurture or abandon nature," Leone explained.

Titled 'A Rose is a Rose is a Rose' (after Gertrude Stein’s verse), the work embodies regeneration through reuse: the largest rose, once rusted, now blooms anew with applied color. Leone manipulates galvanized sheets—"alive and beautiful like skin, crumpled like paper"—to create deliberate dissonance: "The roses appear delicate as origami yet weigh heavy as iron, fragile yet enduring."

Exhibition curator Alka Pande emphasizes themes of tolerance, inclusivity, peaceful coexistence, and ecology—values central to Leone’s practice. The work’s layered meanings—care, redemption, and second chances—bridge human relationships and environmental stewardship (ANSA / Ida Bini)