Jacopo Rinaldi: Cime di alberi e gambe di tavolo

Traditions from northern Italy inspired these works in his volume, Cime di alberi e gambe di tavolo.

Historically, spruce or pine tops, blooming branches, or branches adorned with ribbons, fruit, and rosettes were lifted onto church facades and paraded through town streets. Rinaldi sees this movement across time as more than a ritual gesture: it is transformation, from tree to saint, forest to community, stillness to the cycle of the rite. The artist's works combine traditional craftsmanship with a reflection on archetypal forms, symbolic meanings, and local culture. Woodturning becomes a kind of ritual act, as if the spinning of the lathe could express a principle of rebirth.

Quodlibet, 169pp, 12cm x 26cm, illustrated paperback, 2026