Rifletti 
prima di 
riflettere

When I close my eyes and think back to my first visit to the wonderland of Fiora Gandolfi, the colors flow into my head, the endless fabrics and textures and the images and reflections in the labyrinth of the pulsating organism of the palazzo that surrounds you, touched and enchanted.

And there and above everything stands the enchantress: of the senses, of the words and of this total work of art, Signora Fiora Gandolfi, who first overwhelmed and finally inspired and animated me to realize this wonderful project.


After my first visit she presented me her book: “Avventure di una casa veneziana”
and thus opened the door for me: to her mind, her impressive and deep philosophy of life and wisdom, her ability to surprise at every moment, her humor and her feelings. She is demanding and challenges her counterpart!


A lot of wonderful things have been written and photographed here, there are great works of art about this house and its creator, who cannot be described in words alone, who is not only creative and intelligent, but also beautiful to this day.

After many more visits and conversations, my urge grew to portray Fiora in resonance with the organism she created through a kind of reflection from the outside, how she lives in and with the things she creates and constantly changes, transforms and combines,  giving them a new dimension and meaning that is less transcendental than extremely practical.

Despite all our differences, Fiora and I have common passions and one of them is an unbridled urge to create: "Chi non fa progetti è gìa morto. I progetti sono proiezioni, sono la presenza del futuro" (If you don't have a plan, you're already dead, projects are projections, are the present of the future). She supported me enthusiastically from the start: “Tu fa! Fa! Non ti preoccupare! Insieme facciamo un capolavoro!” (Do it! Just do it! Don’t be afraid! Together we will create a masterpiece).

I have known her for three and a half years now and I was allowed to dive into her world for a week in May 2023 to realize this project.

Three months later I returned to Venice - very excited and enthusiastic - with a pre-selection of the pictures that I had taken over the years. We sat together in her large bedroom in her husband Helenio Herrera's long white Moroccan shirts on the bed draped with tulle veils and spread out all the photographs around us. Finally, she adopted a quote from Andy Warhol: “Tutto quello che si fa in un letto diverta pìu bello, anche pelare patate” (everything you can do in a bed becomes much nicer, even peeling potatoes).

Like everything I experienced with her, this afternoon has left an indelible mark on my memory - we were in a creative flow, struggling to find the subtleties of the titles that claimed to hit the core of the poodle in three languages. When I saw Fiora studying each picture intensively with sparkling eyes and repeatedly exclaiming with joy, I realized that I had met her: a moment of complete happiness.

I allowed myself to be overwhelmed and absorbed by the power and energy of this “spectaculum” at the Ponte delle Paste and so a subjective reflection emerged, with no beginning and no end, no chronology and no claim to be a documentation. It is what it is: a dream, a riot of colors, an homage to my friend and sister of hearts: Fiora Gandolfi 

– Thank you for trusting me and letting me get “so close” in every respect!

A big thank you also to my friend and mentor and curator Marc De Tollenaere, who made this project possible and who accompanied and designed the exhibition with me.  He opened the doors to this palazzo and to Fiora's heart for me and he has brought her Venetian living room to me to Munich and gave me the honor of exhibiting with me with his unique mosaics.

– Thank you for your generous and great support!