Secret Garden by Jaume Plensa
Salzburg, Residenzplatz | 27.7. – 29.8.2025
On July 27, 2025 at 1:30 p.m., we will ceremoniously open Secret Garden to the public – an extraordinary work by Jaume Plensa, one of the most important sculptors of our time.
Five portraits of young women made of cast iron, five faces with closed eyes – connected in a silent, inner dialog. Secret Garden stands for the invisible that lives in all of us: the silent beauty, the personal landscape of dreams, thoughts and feelings – our secret garden.
These women come from different parts of the world, from different cultures and realities of life – and yet they speak the same language of silence, hope and inner dignity. Secret Garden celebrates what unites humanity – beyond origin, nationality or history.
The special thing about Plensa is the socio-cultural dimension of his art, which is not primarily concerned with the historical, but above all with the present of the individual.
During the Salzburg Festival in particular, the sculpture group echoes deeply with what connects music, art and humanity – a silent resonance of universal sentiment and hope.
In the age of artificial intelligence, we need to ask ourselves more than ever what makes us human. Art is not a minor matter – it is the core of our being. Nevertheless, in times of crisis, it is often the first thing to be cut. This project counters this: it is a visible commitment to the power of art – and to its necessity for us all.
Private Collection, USA, Courtesy of The Artist and GRAY Gallery.
“Secret Garden consists of five female faces cast in iron. Set up on Residenzplatz, they surround the Residenzbrunnen fountain and take the position of the Pythagorean star, which corresponds to the five points of the Vitruvian Man and stands for perfection and beauty. The names Minna, Wilsis, Rose, Rui Rui and Soribel form the Secret Garden. Five portraits of women from different parts of the world who, with their eyes closed and in silent conversation, speak of the great beauty that each of us carries within us.”
— Jaume Plensa
A project of the Stiftung für Kunst und Kultur e.V. in cooperation with Global Neighbours.
English