The Garden of Vitreous (De) Lights

Alte Brennerei Unterramsern, Switzerland

1 June — 30 June 2024

The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch (1490-1500) is one of the most fascinating and enigmatic works of art in history. The detailed triptych depicts the transition from the Garden of Eden to the Garden of Earthly Delights and finally to Hell. Simon Berger has reinterpreted this masterpiece in his exhibition The Garden of Vitreous (De)Lights. The Swiss artist created a 'garden of light' by transforming plant motifs from Bosch's work into glass. These glazed structures make the painting accessible and give it a three-dimensional dimension through precise hammer blows. Playing with light, colour and transparency, the garden came to life, inviting the viewer to experience the work in an almost multi-dimensional way. Berger isolated floral motifs from Bosch's flora and fauna and transferred them to panes of glass that acted as 'windows'. Breathing life into them with targeted hammer blows, Berger created the work as a meta-commentary on Bosch's iconography and the beauty of light. From Bosch's two-dimensional canvas to a three-dimensional intervention, 'Eden' becomes an invitation to enter the work and discover the hidden details behind the glass structures.