Artwork: Gerda Steiner and Jörg Lenzlinger, Falling Garden, Venice Biennale , 2003, San Staë church on the Grand Canal
Falling Garden, is a site-specific installation created by Swiss artists Gerda Steiner and Jörg Lenzlinger for the 2003 Venice Biennale at the 17th century San Staë church on the Grand Canal.
The suspended garden—including vegetation from around the world—was inspired by the possibility of mystical and miraculous experiences. Depicted in San Staë’s alter painting is the story of the miracle of the church’s patron saint, San Eustachio. During a hunt, the Imperial huntsman and army commander is converted to Christianity following an encounter with a stag bearing the crucified Christ, its antlers surrounded by a luminous halo.
Artwork: Gerda Steiner and Jörg Lenzlinger, Falling Garden, Venice Biennale , 2003, San Staë church on the Grand Canal
The idea of the site being a place to experience such wonders was a touchstone for the artists transforming the space with a rain of vegetation and crystallized flowerbeds, as if it were the wilderness where the deer was encountered.
A place where the extraordinary could occur.