Women / Donne of South Tyrol: 20 years of Sculpture at Kränzelhof

For the last two decades, the sculpture garden at Kränzelhof has brought together art, landscape, and architecture to South Tyrol. Their latest exhibition, Women / Donne, curated by Nicole Abler marks their 20th anniversary by bringing together eighteen artistic positions exploring the many dimensions of womanhood.

As a member location of Sculpture Network, Kränzelhof has long cultivated encounters between sculpture and environment, creating a space where contemporary artistic positions unfold in direct dialogue with nature and visitors alike.

Their latest exhibition, Women / Donne, curated by Nicole Abler marks their 20th anniversary by bringing together eighteen artistic positions exploring the many dimensions of womanhood. Rather than proposing a singular definition of “woman,” the exhibition opens a fluid and multifaceted field of perspectives between body and identity, memory and projection, intimacy and social reality. 

At the heart of the exhibition lies a fundamental shift in perspective. Historically, sculpture has often reflected dominant cultural narratives in which women appeared as subjects of observation, idealization, or symbolic representation. Women / Donne departs from this history and instead expands the potentiality of ‘Woman’ in contemporary sculpture today. The artists in the exhibition do this by challenging fixed images and embracing complexity and self-determination. The woman emerges not as object, but as subject; not as static form, but as process. 

Curator Nicole Abler approaches this history with curiosity. In her accompanying text, she cites Anaïs Nin: “We don’t see things as they are. We see them as we are.” The quote resonates throughout the exhibition, reminding viewers that every encounter with sculpture is also an encounter with one’s own assumptions, expectations, and perceptions. 

The exhibition also features two Sculpture Network members, Otto Beer and Felicitas von Lensing-Hebben. 

Included in this exhibition are four sculptures from Felicitas von Lensing-Hebben: “Maron”, “Rüstung”, “Silhouette” and “Torso”. The stoic forms appear to be in stark contrast to the surrounding natural environment. But upon closer inspection, bodily motifs are visible in the sculptural forms and reveal a softness and fragility. This is a distinctive factor of Lensing-Hebben’s practice. She embraces the poetic quality of clay, working with something that transforms from soft to hard and imbues this quality in her work. This is exemplified in the work in the exhibition. The monolith forms initially appear as cold and stoic but upon closer inspection the finer details reveal soft but strong bodies standing proud. 

Conversely Otto Beers carved wooden sculptures take a decidedly contemplative approach to the female form. Included in this exhibition are five sculptures from Beers that capture the female form in a state of movement or contemplation. He uses the character of the wood to imbue personality and detail into the forms. Contrasted against the dramatic beauty of the South Tyrol region. 

Another distinctive feature of the exhibition is the atmosphere of Kränzelhof. The sculpture garden does not isolate artworks within neutral exhibition architecture; instead, sculptures are embedded within vineyards, gardens, pathways, and historical structures. Nature becomes an active participant in the exhibition. Light changes surfaces throughout the day, vegetation frames and obscures forms, and visitors encounter works gradually through movement and discovery.

This dialogue between sculpture and landscape has defined Kränzelhof for twenty years. Situated in South Tyrol’s culturally layered environment, the estate has established itself as a place where contemporary art can exist in sustained conversation with place, history, and sensory experience.

As Kränzelhof marks its twentieth anniversary, the exhibition stands as both celebration and continuation: a reminder that sculpture remains a living, evolving medium capable of questioning inherited images while opening new spaces for dialogue.

 

Myfanwy Halton wrote this article in English.