francesco bertelè/the secret garden

francesco bertelè
The Secret Garden 
environmental installation, september 2011


a passage taken from “trasporre la montagna”, by Pierluigi Basso Fossali:

“… the second wave of exhibits by Dolomiti Contemporanee has proven to have risen awareness in the territory: in regards of audience participation, effort from the artists to work “on site”, re-appraising of an area that has seen more passersby in two months than in the past twenty years altogether. On the expositive side, as well, the provided spaces (three pavilions) have been thoroughly interpreted by both curators and artists; in fact, what that seemed to be plenty of space turned out to be a tight fit for the various initiatives. So the very same building that was supposed to be a residence able to house the guest artists, was in part turned into an accommodation offer for potential visitors: dolomitenhof resort. If this side “exhibit” could appear just a silly boutade on paper, it actually turned out to be one of the cores of interest of dc 02. This especially thanks to the complex, witty, and at the same time systematic artistic intervention by Francesco Bertelè: “the secret garden” is an experiental path, both inside the guest quarters, occupied alongside all its basements, and outside sass muss, pushing until the riverbed of the Cordevole. What strikes the most a visitor is the fact that the “secret garden, divided in different installations, each of which is defined by the walls of a single room, presents at the same time an entrance to document the visitor and a “project hall”, an hall that reproduces the vegetal and animal world of the neighbouring river, a mini-monumental hall dedicated to the iron found in-site, an inaccessible basement-hall, and an emotional hall where vision and exploration endure a sort of deliberate bewilderment. This differentiation makes following the red thread that accompanies the unfolding of this maze-like project actually thrilling, allowing the visitor to actualize, each time, different aptitudes (from studying to exploration to the cognitive disorientation) not to mention a suite of adjoining passions (from admiration to surprise).”

artwork realised thanks to the scientific expert advice of the Dolomiti Bellunesi National Park in regards to the floristic-botanic aspects.


artwork part of
dolomitenhof resort
curated by e Association
sass muss, back of the pizzocco building
17 september – 18 october 2011