Orani (NU): Hannah Levy — "Blue Blooded" at the Nivola Foundation

Hannah Levy: Blue Blooded

Where: Museo e Fondazione Costantino Nivola, Orani (NU), Sardinia, Italy

When: opened 28 March 2026 — on view until 12 July 2026

Exhibition overview

Hannah Levy’s first solo show in Italy gathers newly made sculptures that take the horseshoe crab (limulus) as a starting point. The works blend polished metal, silicone and translucent glass to produce shapes that oscillate between biological references and design objects.

Works and materials

The centerpiece is a large tentacular construction in stainless steel and silicone that inhabits the nave of the former washhouse, evoking both shelter and fossilized skeleton. Surrounding pieces include:

• glass sculptures held by sharp metal claws, suggesting bodies caught between fluid and solid states;
• aluminum shells cast via lost-wax techniques with exaggerated sculptural tails, some filled with blue poured glass revealing an inner “belly”;
• stainless steel claw-like wall elements that grip irregular blown blue glass spheres, creating an ambiguous sensuality.

Themes and context

The horseshoe crab functions as a conceptual fulcrum: an ancient species whose vivid blue blood contains the LAL reagent used to detect bacterial contamination in pharmaceuticals. The exhibition prompts ethical and environmental questions about harvesting natural resources and our responsibilities toward species that sustain human health systems.

Site-specific dialogue

Levy developed the project in direct relation to the architecture of the former washhouse and in conversation with the legacy of Costantino Nivola. The rectangular volume and exposed roof structure frame the curving, tactile forms of the sculptures, emphasizing the idea of sculpture as spatial and public experience.

Visitor information

• Location: Museo e Fondazione Costantino Nivola, Orani (NU), Sardinia
• Visiting period: until 12 July 2026
• Curators: Giuliana Altea, Antonella Camarda, Luca Cheri
• Support and credits: Regione Autonoma della Sardegna, Comune di Orani, Fondazione di Sardegna; catalog by Allemandi; exhibition installation by Artigianato e Design di Pietro Fois; main supporter Fondazione di Sardegna.

About the artist

Hannah Levy (b. 1991, New York) produces sculptures and installations that probe relations among body, desire and materiality. Her practice pairs industrial finishes—especially polished metal—with silicone and glass to create hybrid anatomies and designed objects. Blue Blooded is her first institutional solo exhibition in Italy.

Check the Museo e Fondazione Costantino Nivola website or contact the venue for up-to-date opening hours and visitor rules before you go.