Images courtesy of the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, with photographs by Francis Tsang, and TBA21, with photographs by Maru Serrano

The Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum, in collaboration with TBA21 Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary, presents ‘Terraphilia: Beyond the Human in the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collections,’ an exhibition that radically rethinks the relationship between humanity and the planet. Curated by Daniela Zyman, it will be open to visitors through 24 September.

A total of 91 works from the actual museum, from the Carmen Thyssen Collection, and from Francesca Thyssen-Bornemisza’s TBA21 collection are gathered. The show’s title – combining the words Terra (Earth) and Philia (love) – alludes to a deep ethical and spiritual bond with the planet. Through a thematic journey structured as a prelude and six intercennected chapters, the exhibition invites visitors to think about new ways of inhabiting Earth.

Presented with intervals of up to 500 years, the works establish unexpected links that go beyong the aesthetic, revealing relationships between human cultures and natural species through artistic, philosophical, and ecological dialogues. The exhibition design, created by architect Marina Otero Verzier, transforms the museum into a sensory and political space where classical art coexists with the contemporary.

Terraphilia proposes a new cosmopolitics based on empathy and care of the planet. From cosmograms and oceanic mythologies to scientific and spiritual visions, the exhibition offers multiple ways of reconnecting with the Earth.

Francesca Thyssen sums up its purpose: “This exhibition is an invitation to engage with art as a transformative force in the face of the planetary crisis.” It also marks an institutional milestone by bringing together works selected by four generations of the Thyssen family.

Terrafilia redefines the role of art in times of climate emergency, opening paths toward a more just and sensitive coexistence with our environment.