The first phase of the open-air project Blowing Figures into Space by the Bolognese sculptor Davide Rivalta was inaugurated on Tuesday 21 April 2026 in Stockholm. The inauguration took place in Mynttorget square, a place of great importance in the old city of the Swedish capital, located between the Royal Palace and the Parliament. The inauguration was attended by the Italian Ambassador to Sweden HE Michele Pala, the director of the Italian Cultural Institute in Stockholm Francesco Di Lella, the bailiff of the Royal Palace Erik Kampmann and the artist Davide Rivalta. The project, promoted by the Italian Cultural Institute in Stockholm in collaboration with the Italian Embassy in Sweden and the CM Lerici Foundation and with the support of the Swedish Royal House, the Royal Parks and the City of Stockholm, is divided into two phases. The first phase consists of the imposing lion in Mynttorget and five other animals in the Institute courtyard.
The second phase will open on August 29, 2026 and will see the arrival of other sculptures in some of Stockholm’s most beloved parks. In total thirteen impressive bronze or aluminum sculptures depicting lions, rhinos, buffaloes and bears will be placed in some of the most symbolic places of the capital in a continuous dialogue between art, urban landscape and nature. With this project Rivalta proposes a powerful reflection on the animal presence in public space and on the relationship between human beings and the natural world. His sculptures, positioned directly on the ground without pedestals, emerge as familiar yet alienating apparitions, creating a poetic interference in the urban fabric of the city. The project will animate the city of Stockholm until 31 August 2027.
Davide Rivalta (Bologna, 1974) has exhibited in prestigious museums and institutions in Italy and abroad. Since 2019, two of his lions have been on permanent display at the Quirinale Palace. His urban installations have been hosted in, among others, Antibes, Neuchâtel, Oslo, Dublin, Riyadh and Washington. With Blowing Figures into Space, Rivalta brings his visionary poetics to Stockholm: a silent and majestic “migration” that invites us to reconsider our coexistence with the natural world through the symbolic and physical strength of sculpture.
