In his (
Nature Carpets), 1965, which gained him recognition and assimilation into the Arte Povera movement, Gilardi built three - dimensional carpets
out of polyurethane which used «natural» leaves, rocks, and soil as
decoration, design and art meshed together to question societal sensibilities towards what is real and natural and how artificiality was being engrained into the contemporary commercialized world.
When my children were younger and we all kind
of felt let down after Christmas when the
decorations were all put away, I used to decorate the kitchen with snow and ice - themed
decorations for January — icicle garlands in the window, snowflake hanging from the light fixture, cut
out paper snowflakes on the window panes, and a white table cloth strewn with iridescent stars on the table, along with The Winter King, old Mother Earth, and sleeping «root children» on our
Nature Table.