Springtime and Sculpture – Il Giardino di Daniel Spoerri

it’s been a while between posts as the snow and ice of january and february [and even march this year] made sure it was a time for indoors. nice if you’re a bear, not if you’re a creature of sunlight…

it’s april now and spring has exploded late and spectacularly here on monte amiata, bringing with it the opportunity for a series of arty jaunts out and about…i’m scooping them all up while they’re in abundance; they’re much needed after a creative slump [not only mine but almost everyone creative I know on this side of the planet]. so the first on the list:

Il Giardino do Daniel Spoerri

the weekend before last, the etruscan and i visited il giardino di daniel spoerri in seggiano [about a 15 minute drive from santa fiora]. the intention was more or less that we walk off the stodge of a large sunday lunch and then follow that with some serious lying down in the sun. with olive trees, 23C, the view over seggiano and the sleeping volcano at our back, we did get in a gratuitous relax or two [as much as possible with resident amorous feline] in between some pretty amazing work.

the garden is an absolute treasure and it’s big. all in all there are 104 separate works by swiss artist and writer [and dancer and restaurateur {mr raffe, are you reading this??}] daniel spoerri together with various other sculptors.

 

before our visit i had deliberately not researched anything about the artists or the garden – what i knew of the garden was solely by word of mouth; i wanted to be surprised by my own discovery and enjoy that first visceral reaction followed by an urgency to know more about an artist and the meaning behind their work.

as with any large gallery or museum il giardino di daniel spoerri requires a lot of time for perusal – or several visits – to appreciate.
i’m so happy to find this on my doorstep.