Irene Grau and Marco Giordano meet at IVAM to explore the more-than-human—the idea that minerals, plants, and even industrial cables possess an essence similar to our own. Grau uses her physical presence to extract color and texture from the earth, while Giordano repurposes the literal guts of our cities to question how energy flows through our lives. Together, they recognize natural and artificial elements as bodies with their own agency.

You're watching the physical weight of the Valencian landscape captured in canvases stained with rust and water, where the earth has effectively painted itself. Beside them, skeletal sculptures made of salvaged copper and fiberglass rise like the ghosts of power grids, turning the gallery into a quiet ecosystem where the boundary between organic life and urban engineering begins to dissolve.

• Nature as a brush: See Irene Grau’s A hierro series, where the artist drags fabric across the earth, allowing grass and stones to mark the canvas through sheer physical force.
• Industrial archaeology: Marco Giordano’s Gridlocks uses decommissioned cabling salvaged from Glasgow to create large-scale installations that make the invisible structures of our cities impossible to ignore.
• Site-specific resonance: The exhibition features new works created specifically for the museum, including pieces made from ceramic dust, a material synonymous with the industrial heritage of the Castellón region.

Begin by examining the subtle textures of Grau’s paintings, noticing how the rust settles into the fabric like a memory of the ground. Afterward, move slowly through Giordano’s wire installations, paying attention to the shadows they cast on the floor. When you leave the museum, take a walk toward the nearby Turia Garden; the contrast between the curated greenery and the city’s electrical lines will feel suddenly profound.