Il Giardino Segreto: Irene Cattaneo

Lo Studio and Galerie Gastou are pleased to bring Irene Cattaneo’s surrealist and magical sculptures to the heart of Venice, coinciding with the 61st Biennale di Venezia. The exhibition, titled Il Giardino Segreto, transforms a private Venetian garden into a captivating, immersive experience where imagination and materiality converge. Within this contained, contemplative space, new works by the artist engage in a dialogue between nature, sculpture, and dreamlike forms, creating a landscape where the physical and psychological interiors are in continuous relation. From May 6th to September 30th, 2026, the installation operates as a site of transformation, rooted in the intersection of emotion, literature, and cinema. Drawing inspiration from the 1993 film _The Secret Garden_ and the musical tonalities of minor keys, the project functions as an ode to nostalgia and a way back to oneself. The garden invites viewers into a visceral recognition of personal and literary memory, prompted by familiar forms that have been rendered with material weight and permanence. For this occasion, Irene presents a series of works that explore the precarious balance between freedom and risk, particularly linked to the themes of motherhood and childhood autonomy. At the central axis is the _Effie Briest_ swing set, a cast bronze sculpture that captures a condition of suspension between the freedom of youth and the social structures of adulthood. This is complemented by the _Well, Well, Well_ sculpture, a unique piece crafted in solid onyx and steel that disrupts the narrative of the "dark void" with illuminated text, suggesting that true awareness emerges only when one dares to look inward. The installation further features the _Queen of the Night_ suite—including a table, bench, and key—utilising lunar opaline glass to allude to the fleeting and incapturable nature of beauty and youth. Other works, such as the _Snowdrop_ lamps and the marble _Pareidola_ stools, serve as deeply personal odes to familial renewal and the infinite possibilities of childhood imagination. Together, these pieces collapse light, time, and perception into a singular, transformative space.