Introduction & Personal Perspective Since Sunday, July 27, 2025, the Residenzplatz in Salzburg has been transformed by the artist Jaume Plensa into a silent garden of reflection, graced with his monumental, dreaming heads made of metal. “A mesmerizing sight: The monumental sculptures redefine the Residenzplatz and attract visitors like moths to a flame.”

Artistic Reflection and Dialogue with Mozart “This time I’m not encountering this artwork as an online journalist, but as an artist – with a keen eye for the invisible space between form and emotion.” The Residenzplatz breathes history – but today, a new language floats above its cobbled stones: the language of Jaume Plensa’s sculptures. Faces without words, bodies without movement – and yet a silence that speaks. In the background, unmoved but eternally present, Mozart – the genius of music – witnesses this dialogue of forms. What does he see? What does he hear? Perhaps the sound of thoughts that art awakens within us. How does he feel? Pushed into the background, yet present, his gaze meets these monumental sculptures. A quiet dialogue with the “five women of differing origins and nationalities who, with closed eyes, might be guarding their dreams and longings?” “Mozart, the eternal poet of sound, observes this new language of forms from afar. Does he listen to the inner dialogues of the sculptures? Or hear the thoughts they awaken in us?”

The installation around the Residenzbrunnen – a magnificent baroque fountain with its own story – was a brilliant idea. Crafted from Untersberg marble by Tommaso di Garona, though not without controversy, the fountain consists of three basins and four sculptural groups. Past and future converge in a dialogue between the five women’s heads and the fountain. A moment of reflection: what is history, what is the future?

Technical Details of the Sculptures Created in 2023 in the Plensa Studio Barcelona, the work consists of five oversized heads, each measuring 11 meters in height and weighing approximately 30 tons. The sculptures – named Minna, Rui Rui, Wilsis, Rose, and Soribel – are arranged in an open grid measuring 24 × 24 meters. Each figure is made up of 22 to 26 individual fragments connected by stainless steel bolts. Thanks to their modular structure, the sculptures can be assembled piece by piece.

Plensa’s Concept of the Secret Garden Jaume Plensa’s statement resonates: “Five women of different origins and nationalities who, with closed eyes, speak to us through inner paths, of all the beauty we hold within ourselves. An unknown and unique landscape that remains hidden deep within our being – the secret garden of our lives, the most valuable place, the center of our dreams and longings.”

Walk of Modern Art “Secret Garden” continues the acclaimed project Walk of Modern Art, established between 2002 and 2011 in Salzburg. It brings contemporary international art into the public space, creating a vibrant dialogue with the historic city center. Statement from Walter Smerling, Chairman of the Stiftung für Kunst und Kultur e.V. and curator: “With Secret Garden, the Walk of Modern Art continues impressively: art that belongs to everyone – in the midst of life, in the heart of Salzburg. Jaume Plensa creates space for humanity through silence and beauty.”

Jaume Plensa became internationally known through works like the “Crown Fountain” in Chicago and the “Behind the Walls” installation at Rockefeller Center in New York. He also designed acclaimed stage sets, for example at the Liceu Barcelona. In Salzburg, he’s already part of the Walk of Modern Art with his work “Awilda” in the arcaded courtyard of the university (2010).

During the Salzburg Festival, Plensa’s sculptures transform the Residenzplatz into a site of silent poetry. Visitors approach them with awe – sitting down, lingering, capturing the moment. And in the heart of Salzburg, the secret garden unfolds – open, universal, deep within us.

🗓 The sculptures are freely accessible during the Salzburg Festival, from July 27 to August 29 – located in the historic old town – turning Residenzplatz into a place of silent poetry and universal encounter.