On the occasion of Pitti Uomo, taking place from January 13 to 16, 2026, in Florence, designer Philéo Landowski, guest curator of the Art 2026 Program, presents a site-specific installation by French architect and sculptor Marc Leschelier in the forecourt of the Central Pavilion.

Conceived as a large-scale spatial intervention, the project spans the 1,700 square meters of the forecourt and is composed of 18 monoliths, each measuring 5 meters high, 3 meters wide, and 9 meters deep. The structures are constructed with scaffolding systems covered in concrete canvas, a material that has become emblematic of Leschelier's work in recent years.

Arranged in the space like a sort of contemporary Stonehenge, the volumes draw a perimeter with an almost archaeological geometry, recalling the imagery of an ancient, nearly mystical place, while also suggesting a futuristic language. The installation is based on a tension between ancestral typologies and contemporary treatment: a dialogue between opposites that runs through the artist's entire practice.

Concrete canvas, originally developed for infrastructure applications such as slope stabilization, road reinforcement, or soil reinforcement, is characterized by a simple and rapid process. Once installed and moistened, the material hardens in about 24 hours, thanks to its cementitious composition, transforming into a mineral mass usable as an architectural element. In keeping with the Pitti Uomo universe, Leschelier uses it to build walls and, in some cases, even roofs.

The installation invites the public to physically walk through the work and reach the exhibition spaces below. It is here that the staircase becomes a central element of its vocabulary, a tool that makes the work, above all, an experience to be enjoyed on a human scale.

Marc Leschelier is a French architect living and working in Paris. He creates structures that have no practical function, termed "pre-architecture," designed for open spaces, sculpture parks, or contexts not subject to conventional urban planning regulations. Through the development of alternative construction systems, Leschelier responds to what he sees as a progressive sclerosis of the architectural discipline, creating a direct and essential architecture. His work draws inspiration from performance art, vernacular architecture, and industrial abstraction, and stems from an attempt to transcend disciplinary logic to build something immediate and in tune with the rhythm of the present.

Pitti Uomo 109
January 13 - 16, 2026
Fortezza da Basso - Florence

Ancient/New Site Marc Leschelier site-specific installation @ Central Pavilion