Hortus Conclusus

When the world is still in order

Opening:
Saturday, June 8, 5 p.m.

Curated by Cyril Kazis,
Thessy Schoenholzer Nichols
and Bernhard Duss
Exhibition:
9. to 23. June 2024
Thu-Sun 1.p.m. to 6.p.m.
and by appointment
Detail of a Hortus Conclusus embroidery, late 16th century, from southern Germany. The embroidery is located in the Jesuit Church in Rome. The photo was kindly provided by the “Italian Province
of the Society of Jesus”. Photographer Zeno Colantoni.
Thessy Schoenholzer Nichols Hortus Gloriosus; silk, silver and brass wire, pearls, crystals, paper, foil; 17 cm x 27 cm; 2024

Hortus Conclusus is the Latin term for a closed garden, often used in Christian art and literature to symbolize the purity and protection of the Virgin Mary.

Bernhard Duss, Big Banana; 70 cm x cm 90; print on acoustic fleece; 2024


Closed gardens are an important part of the history of all cultures and have fascinated people since time immemorial.


With the exhibition Hortus Conclusus, the Gallery presents a symbiosis of nature, history and a new interpretation of the enclosed garden.

Guido Fauro: Aiuole patchwork; 36 cm x 38 cm; paper, tinfoil; 2024


The show opens with an oversized reproduction of a late medieval Hortus Conclusus embroidery, ceramics and monastic works from the 17th and 18th centuries.

Ceramic plate with cypresses; 17th century; Catalan, private collection.


With the works of Bernhard Duss, scenographer and textile designer, Thessy Schoenholzer Nichols, textile researcher and designer, and Guido Fauro, poet and Byzantologist, works of fantastic gardens will be shown that place the theme in a contemporary context through personal reinterpretations.

Sa. Josephus with stylized flowers; silver and brass wire, bouillon, tinsel, parchment, silk, painted parchment; ca. 1770; Martin Kamer Collection.