Irene Cattaneo: The Secret Garden

Hidden between the Grand Canal and Museo Fortuny lies a private garden – enclosed and quiet, set apart from the city’s theatricality. During the Biennale, this space becomes a threshold. Here, Irene Cattaneo presents an in-situ installation centered on a bronze swing, a childhood form rendered permanent.The work references “The Secret Garden” (1993), where the garden emerges as a protected interior shaped by time and care, and the opening scene of “Effi Briest” by Theodor Fontane (1895), where a young girl on a swing appears suspended between childhood and the social structures that will define her life. Resonating with the Biennale’s title In Minor Keys, the installation explores nostalgia and emotional recall – where recognition precedes interpretation.