SELVA DI SOGNO

Deva Manfredo calls his creations made with stones from the Sienese woods “stoneart”, fantastic constructions recalling miniature Indian temples or Oriental cities, mandalas or paths woven with the colours of nature.

Anthropomorphic figures seem to emerge from the earth in the oak woods of Podere San Giorgio, as if conversing with the foliage and trees. The artist creates this work by exploiting the attraction between stones he places meticulously side by side or one atop the other or wedged into another without the expedient of any glue or cement; gravity alone holds them together.
Working in this way since the early 1980s, Manfredo defines himself as a “composer of natural objects”. These woods invite visitors to linger, to experience themselves in the natural environment. For those who wish, there are guided meditations or workshops to stimulate one’s own creativity. Manfredo, a member of the Ohio Miasto community settled here, encourages visitors to remain silent and attentive to nature as they follow a path conceived as a sort of initiation rite into a different consciousness, in effect, a meditative practice to experience the inner self.