Olaf Nicolai's Ice Skating Rink Installation Opens at Palazzo Diedo in Venice
Starting December 13, visitors to Palazzo Diedo in Venice can ice skate to music on an artwork by German sound and new media artist Olaf Nicolai. The installation, titled Eisfeld II ("ice field"), consists of a 100-square-meter artificial ice rink in the 18th-century palace's first-floor ballroom, accompanied by a soundtrack from Berlin band To Rococo Rot. Two light boxes by Nicolai, Enjoy/Survive I & II, flank the rink. The work was first presented 24 years ago at the Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst in Zurich. Nicolai has re-adapted it for Palazzo Diedo, adding the original score by To Rococo Rot, played through six speakers. The venue, reopened in 2024 after two years of restoration by the Berggruen Arts & Culture foundation, hosts artist residencies, exhibitions, events, films, and performances. The installation runs until February 22.
Key facts
- Olaf Nicolai's Eisfeld II ice skating rink installation opens at Palazzo Diedo in Venice from December 13 to February 22.
- The 100-square-meter rink is located in the first-floor ballroom of the 18th-century palace.
- The installation includes a soundtrack by Berlin band To Rococo Rot.
- Two light boxes by Nicolai, Enjoy/Survive I & II, are placed at the ends of the rink.
- Eisfeld II was first presented 24 years ago at the Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst in Zurich.
- Palazzo Diedo reopened in 2024 after two years of restoration by the Berggruen Arts & Culture foundation.
- The foundation was created by collector and philanthropist Nicolas Berggruen.
- To Rococo Rot began their musical career in a Berlin art gallery in 1995.
Entities
Artists
- Olaf Nicolai
- Nicolas Berggruen
Institutions
- Berggruen Arts & Culture
- Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst
- To Rococo Rot
Locations
- Venice
- Italy
- Palazzo Diedo
- Zurich
- Switzerland
- Berlin
- Germany