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Opening
13.12.2025 h. 3 – 9 pm
Free Admission

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In the year of the Winter Olympics 2026, Berggruen Arts & Culture presents the spectacular ice installation Eisfeld II by internationally renowned artist Olaf Nicolai.

Eisfeld II is a 100-square-meter ice-rink which will be located in the Palazzo’s frescoed grand banqueting hall on the first floor. The environmental installation cools down as the exhibition progresses despite being in an enclosed space. It features a specially composed soundtrack by the Berlin band To Rococo Rot, played on six loudspeakers to amplify the movement of visitors as they skate around the rink.

The installation, Eisfeld, which the artist originally developed over 20 years ago, has been specially reinterpreted for the Palazzo Diedo.

Eisfeld II is equipped with the latest artificial ice production technology. Accompanied by Nicolai’s two lightboxes ENJOY/SURVIVE (I & II) at each end of the rink, the installation accentuates the interplay between the concepts ‘Enjoy’ and ‘Survive’, inviting visitors to reflect on the balance of pleasure and perseverance.

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Olaf Nicolai, born in Halle/Saale in 1962, is one of Germany's leading artists. He works conceptually and breaks new ground in detaching art from the classical forms of representation and marketing. He links art with reflections on markets and materialism, with memories and archival material, and with settings from everyday life. He creates artificial landscapes and urban sceneries, enlarges consumer goods into the gigantic and works with alienated advertising graphics. Nicolai often incorporates scientific findings into his concepts. His fascination with mathematical models, universal algorithms, symbolism, and regular patterns is evident in many of his installations.