Fallen Fruit's Site-Specific Wallpaper Installation at Accademia Carrara

The Accademia Carrara in Bergamo, co-Capital of Italian Culture with Brescia, will reopen on January 28, 2023, with a new permanent installation by the Californian duo Fallen Fruit (David Allen Burns and Austin Young). Titled "Conversazioni Sacre," the site-specific wallpaper covers the museum's staircase and elevator area, transforming the vertical passage into a visionary journey from darkness to light. The work incorporates floral motifs, colors, and details drawn from the museum's collection and Bergamo's urban landscape, including churches, monasteries, castles, parks, and public spaces. The duo immersed themselves in the city and the museum, photographing elements from the library, theater, botanical gardens, and historic sites. The title references the sacred conversations in Renaissance altarpieces, particularly those by Lorenzo Lotto, and reflects the museum's renewal and the community's daily rituals. The wallpaper's color scheme shifts from dark tones on the ground floor to light blues and whites on the second floor, where images of angels and cherubs multiply. Fallen Fruit previously gained international recognition with their installation at Manifesta 12 Palermo for Palazzo Butera, followed by works at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, NGV Triennial in Melbourne, Vallarta Botanical Gardens in Mexico, and LA County Arts Commission. This is their first permanent installation in an Italian museum.