The fingers of the hand Bert Theis, 1998

Bert Theis, invited by curators Florian Matzner and Angela Vettese for the third edition of Arte all’Arte, created site-specific and temporary works in the Fiumi archaeological park in Volterra.

“…small white wooden islands, each shaded by a palm tree, like platforms for rest, leisure, and play, meant to come to life daily through interaction with the park’s regular visitors. On a historical level, the reclining position they encourage in those who use them recalls that of the figures on Etruscan sarcophagi, so typical of Volterra’s past. In this way, local residents will experience a new kind of art—an art not yet widely known—and perhaps, through these new works, will come to know their familiar surroundings in a new way. From a psychological and aesthetic perspective, there is a great difference between going to Volterra’s archaeological park to simply lie down after work, or going there to relax on one of Bert Theis’s paradise islands, watching the palm leaves sway in the wind and perhaps listening to the distant sound of waves crashing on the shore.”

Angela Vettese, Arte all’Arte III, 1998