Eisfeld II – Enjoy / Survive
EISFELD II
Enjoy / Survive
Olaf Nicolai
Palazzo Diedo
December 13 – February 22, 2026
In the year of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, Berggruen Arts & Culture presents the spectacular ice installation EISFELD II by the internationally renowned artist Olaf Nicolai.
EISFELD II is a 100-square-meter skating rink which will be located in the Palazzo’s frescoed grand banqueting hall on the first floor. The environmental installation uses new sustainable technology that simulates ice and is accompanied by a soundtrack that invites visitors to enjoy an alienating sensory experience while in an enclosed space.
First presented in 2001 at the Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst in Zurich, EISFELD is now reinterpreted for Palazzo Diedo, immersed in an imposing Baroque atmosphere and created using advanced technologies. Olaf Nicolai renews the debate on the function of cultural institutions.
Nicolai’s two lightboxes ENJOY/SURVIVE (I & II),located at either end of the rink, invite visitors to reflect on the delicate balance between “Pleasure” and “Survival”, transforming the skating experience into a sensory and conceptual meditation.
