Artist Klaus Littmann creates work in the public arena, to exist, and interrupt, alongside the comings and goings of everyday life. In the past he has floated artworks in the sky above cities and filled football stadiums with forests to create his interventionist art exhibitions that can’t be overlooked. Most recently, he framed a tree within its own arena and floated it in the Venice lagoon for the city’s 60th Art Biennale. Bobbing around in the water, the piece featured a circular wooden structure resembling an inverted dome with saplings emerging from its porous hull. The installation was inspired by tree rings, with tiered seating encircling three living trees at the heart. In this sense the piece is interactive, inviting an audience to sit and witness the slow growth in front of them.
Situated in Venice’s eastern outskirts, near the historic Venetian Arsenal, once a symbol of Venice’s maritime legacy, the structure makes a comment on the city’s past and its precarious future, signifying a shift towards environmental consciousness and sustainability.
Images © Kulturstiftung Basel H. Geiger | KBH.G / copyright holders