The new site specific artwork “Paradise Lost” by artists David Allen Burns and Austin Young /  Fallen Fruit, is currently on view in Modena, Italy, until August 24, 2025. The exhibition continues  across two venues: the Palazzina dei Giardini Ducali and the Museo della Figurina .

La mostra di David Allen Burns e Austin Young / Fallen Fruit fino al 24 agosto alla Palazzina dei Giardini ducali e al Museo della Figurina

The 17th-century Palazzina dei Giardini Ducali hosts a lush paradise of flowers, plants, butterflies, birds, and animals of every type and species, created for the occasion to prompt reflection on the natural environment threatened by climate change. With the exhibition “Paradise Lost,”  artists David Allen Burns and Austin Young / Fallen Fruit , drawing inspiration from historical image collections preserved at the Museo della Figurina, create an immersive environment that fills drapery and walls, reconstructing a kind of “lost paradise.”

Their work, beginning with their public fruit tree maps created in Los Angeles in 2004, has always maintained a strong connection to urban spaces and the idea of “sharing the world with others.”

Just a few steps from the Botanical Garden, a site-specific installation by the Californian duo is on view. In an environment rich with images and evocative elements, there are also specimens of taxidermy animals on display, on loan from the Museum of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy, part of the Unimore Museum and Botanical Garden system. Wolves, foxes, monkeys, birds, iguanas, and toads — silent witnesses immersed in the artwork — seem to come back to life, reminding us of the fragility of existence and the balance of nature.

The exhibition also extends to the Museo della Figurina, housed in Palazzo Santa Margherita, where visitors can admire the original images that inspired the artists. These are refined drawings accompanied by short texts written in the simple, educational style of popular encyclopedias, typical of vintage sticker albums — from “The Symbols of Flowers”to “Alpine Peaks,” “The Strength of Insects” to “Major Crops,” and on to “Butterflies and Cherubs” and “Children and Shells.”

La seicentesca Palazzina dei Giardini ducali accoglie un lussureggiante paradiso di fiori, piante, farfalle, uccelli e animali di ogni tipo e specie creato per l’occasione dai Austin Young e David Allen Burns / Fallen Fruit, per suggerire una riflessione sull’ambiente naturale minacciato dai cambiamenti climatici. Con la mostra Paradise Lost, a cura di Francesca Fontana, gli artisti David Allen Burns e Austin Young, ispirandosi alle immagini di collezioni storiche conservate al Museo della Figurina, creano un ambiente immersivo che pervade tendaggi e pareti ricostruendo, appunto, una sorta di “paradiso perduto”. Le loro opere, a partire dalle mappe degli alberi da frutto pubblici realizzate a Los Angeles nel 2004, hanno sempre una stretta connessione con gli spazi urbani e con la propensione a “condividere il mondo con gli altri”.

A pochi passi dall’Orto botanico è esposta l’opera site–specific del duo californiano dove, in un ambiente carico di immagini e suggestioni, sono presenti anche esemplari di animali tassidermizzati, provenienti dal Museo di zoologia e anatomia comparata che fa parte del Sistema dei Musei e Orto Botanico di Unimore. Lupi, volpi, scimmie, volatili, iguane e rospi che, come testimoni silenziosi immersi nell’opera artistica, sembrano riacquistare nuova vita ricordandoci la fragilità dell’esistenza e dell’equilibrio della natura. La mostra si sviluppa anche nella sede del Museo della Figurina, a Palazzo Santa Margherita, dove si possono ammirare le immagini originali, quelle che hanno ispirato gli artisti. Disegni raffinati, accompagnati da testi illustrativi nello stile semplice, da piccola enciclopedia popolare, che caratterizzava gli album di figurine dell’epoca: dai “Simboli dei fiori” alle “Cime alpine”, dalla “Forza degli insetti” alle “Grandi coltivazioni”, fino a “Farfalle e amorini” o “Bambini e conchiglie”.

Per approfondimenti, consulta il comunicato stampa.

David Allen Burns and Austin Young / Fallen Fruit,

The Power of Pollinators (And Other Living Things)

a new permanent artwork commissioned by  Nevada Museum of Art in Reno, Nevada.

Sheer curtains and wall covering, 2024

Curator: Apsara DiQuinzio

Companion artwork:  Monument to Sharing, by David Allen Burns and Austin Young /  Fallen Fruit,  is outside in front of the museum.

Lead Sponsor: Roswitha Smale

Austin Young / Fallen Fruit
Marriage of the Sea (the rape of Venice) / Sposalizio del Mare (il ratto di Venezia)
April 18 – June 30 2024

Presented by THE POOL NYC at historic Palazzo Cesari Marchesi, Venice, Italy

Read interview with Austin Young  in ART magazine HERE

THE POOL NYC presents Marriage of the Sea (the rape of Venice), a new artwork by Austin Young / Fallen Fruit at Palazzo Cesari Marchesi. 

‘Marriage of the Sea (The Rape of Venice)’  weaves a visual and conceptual narrative about the ancestral bond between La Serenissima  and the Adriatic Sea. The exhibition will consist of a new large-scale artwork created for Venice and printed onto fabric wall covering and sheer curtains. “As an artist, I attempt to change the way you feel upon entering a room, aiming to share my perceptions through a sublime, aesthetic experience.” says Young.  The artwork is a celebration of the lagoon, comprising a kaleidoscopic portrait of Venice, a collage of the artist’s original photographs and images found in archives during visits to the city’s museums, churches and palazzos

For hundreds of years on Ascension Day, a sacrifice was made. A glorious golden ring was thrown into the water that affirmed Venice’s dominion over the Adriatic Sea. The magic of this divine sacrifice was so powerful that it lasted centuries. Amid a dwindling population, the fouling of her canals, increasingly encroaching tides, and the loss of community through short term rentals, it is time to re-invoke this ancient vow: ‘Desponsamus te, mare, in signum veri perpetuique dominii!’ We marry you, sea, as a symbol of true and perpetual dominion!”

Title: Marriage of the Sea (the rape of Venice) /  Sposalizio del Mare (il ratto di Venezia)

Artist: Austin Young / Fallen Fruit

Where: THE POOL NYC at PALAZZO CESARI MARCHESI

Calle Rombiasio 2539, Campo Santa Maria del Giglio, 30124 Venice

Vaporetto: Giglio

Hours: 11am- 1pm/ 2- 7 pm – Closed on Tuesdays

Technical sponsor: PROMEMORIA

ABOUT AUSTIN YOUNG 

Austin Young is a multidisciplinary artist whose trademark style interprets a nuanced visual language of beauty, pop culture, art history, folk art, and transgressive underground exuberance. Whether he’s working in photography and video-based modes of performative portraiture, engaging in assertive visibility for Queer culture, or advocating for a community-based resource sharing culture, Young’s interest is in illustrating the sublime qualities of humanity that moves us all forward.
Fallen Fruit is an art collaboration originally conceived in 2004 by David Burns, Matias Viegener and Austin Young. Since 2013, David and Austin have continued the collaborative work.  Much of the work they create is linked to ideas of place and generational knowledge, and it echoes a sense of connectedness with something very primal – our capacity to share the world with others. Recent permanent artworks and museum exhibitions include Chiotro del Bramante in Rome, Accademia Carrara in Bergamo, Orto Botanico in Palermo, V&A in London, LACMA in Los Angeles, Manifesta 12 in Palermo, NGV Triennial  in Melbourne, and more.
www.austinyoung.com www.fallenfruit.org
Instagram: @austinyoungforever @fallen_fruit 

Sposalizio del Mare (il ratto di Venezia) tesse un affascinante racconto visivo e concettuale sul legame ancestrale tra la Serenissima e l’Adriatico. Austin Young / Fallen Fruit realizza un inedito ed immersivo wall covering di grandi dimensioni creato appositamente per Venezia. Tessuto e tende velate rivestono le pareti e le finestre del palazzo.

Come artista, cerco di creare un’esperienza sublime che cambia le sensazioni una volta entrati nella stanza. L’obiettivo è di condividere le mie percezioni attraverso un’avventura estetica”, afferma Young.

Il lavoro di Austin Young è insieme celebrazione e ritratto di Venezia, è un collage di fotografie originali dell’artista e di immagini tratte dagli archivi durante le sue visite nei musei, nelle chiese e nei palazzi della città.

L’artista americano spiega: “Per centinaia di anni, nel giorno dell’Ascensione, è stato compiuto un sacrificio. Si gettava in acqua un glorioso anello d’oro che affermava il dominio di Venezia sull’Adriatico. La magia di questo sacrificio divino è stato così potente da durare per secoli. Tra la diminuzione della popolazione, l’incrostazione dei canali, le maree sempre più alte e la perdita della comunità a causa degli affitti a breve termine, è tempo di rievocare questo antico voto: “Desponsamus te, mare, in signum veri perpetuique dominii! Ti sposiamo, mare, come simbolo del vero e perpetuo dominio!”.

Per l’evento di apertura del 18 Aprile è previsto un progetto partecipativo con l’artista Irene Machetti. I visitatori sono invitati a sposare il mare.

Viola Romoli e Luigi Franchin, direttori di THE POOL NYC, affermano: “Questa coinvolgente installazione d’arte, sublime e immersiva rappresenta un’immagine allegorica di Venezia sedotta dal turismo, una città che ha sacrificato il suo capitale culturale e l’ambiente per avidità. Un’accurata ricerca della bellezza, dell’identità e delle norme sociali permea il lavoro dell’artista, conferendogli una profondità e una rilevanza che fa presa con il pubblico di tutto il mondo.”

ABOUT THE POOL NYC 

THE POOL NYC is a contemporary art gallery founded in New York in 2009, specializing in modern and contemporary artists and Murano glass. In November 2017 THE POOL NYC opened a permanent home in Palazzo Fagnani Ronzoni in Milan. On the occasion of the Venice Biennale, the gallery organizes a major art exhibition in the lagoon. The gallery stands out for its search for innovative artistic expressions and the rediscovery of artists fundamental to the History of the 20th century. THE POOL NYC is committed to offer an inclusive and diverse platform, welcoming a wide range of artistic mediums, including painting, sculpture, photography and installations. With a focus on experimentation and critical reflection, the gallery promotes meaningful dialogues on contemporary issues through art.

Join us!  Fallen Fruit Talk & Magazine  | 11 AM–3:00 PM June 23 at Community Day!
Join the art collaboration Fallen Fruit in a talk and hands-on zine workshop plus tastings of local foods! The talk will start at 11am and then drop in and contribute to the  Zine with the artists at noon.

David Allen Burns and Austin Young / Fallen Fruit present an informal discussion about their twenty-year practice of commissioned art projects in the public realm. These immersive experience-based artworks are created for cities around the world. The selected works are often considered contemporary portraits of a city or place. Using strategies of collage and collaboration, Austin and David from Fallen Fruit will create a topical magazine with participants. Join us and contribute to the digital zine created specifically for the Parrish Art Museum and the East End of Long Island.

Parrish Art Museum

‘For our work, we are committed to making artworks that celebrate the public and local history. We love to make art with people. Storytelling and artmaking during the events become … a portrait of the place or everyone who is there that day. The magazine itself becomes an artwork that is made from the public and by the public. Much of the art work we make is serialized work and the collections represent cities around the world. In this way, the works are extending and reactivating in different ways, new exhibitions and practices.’ – Fallen Fruit.

FREE Arts & Food Festival

Free Admission | 10 AM–5 PM | Galleries, Shop, Café, Outdoors
All visitors enjoy free admission to the Museum’s galleries, Creativity Lounge, Museum Shop, and Parrish Café!

Fallen Fruit Talk & Workshop | 11 AM–12:30 PM
Join the art collaboration Fallen Fruit in a talk and hands-on zine workshop plus tastings of local foods!

Food Trucks | 11:30 AM–3:30 PM
Balo’s, Mattitaco, North Fork Flour Truck

Guided Gallery Visits with Docents | 12:30–3:30 PM
Docents available for guided looking in the galleries on Simón Vega: Tropical Space Castaways and The Art of Food: From the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation.

Film Screenings | 1:30–3 PM | The Lichtenstein Theater
Film co-presented by Hamptons Doc Fest.

Art Workshops | 1–4:30 PM | The Mildred C. Brinn Terrace
Food sculpture model magic and tape, vegetable printing, recycled packaging project, and more!

Austin Young / Fallen Fruit
Marriage of the Sea (the rape of Venice) / Sposalizio del Mare (il ratto di Venezia)
April 18 – November 24, 2024

Presented by THE POOL NYC at historic Palazzo Cesari Marchesi, Venice, Italy

Opening: April 18, from 5 pm to 10 pm 
Opening performance: 6 pm to 8 pm with Irene Machetti

Sketch for Sposalizio del Mare (il ratto di Venezia)’, by Austin Young / Fallen Fruit. (in progress) digital collage printed on watercolor paper, 2024. Image courtesy of the artist.

THE POOL NYC presents Marriage of the Sea (the rape of Venice), a new artwork by Austin Young / Fallen Fruit at Palazzo Cesari Marchesi. 

‘Marriage of the Sea (The Rape of Venice)’  weaves a visual and conceptual narrative about the ancestral bond between La Serenissima  and the Adriatic Sea. The exhibition will consist of a new large-scale artwork created for Venice and printed onto fabric wall covering and sheer curtains. “As an artist, I attempt to change the way you feel upon entering a room, aiming to share my perceptions through a sublime, aesthetic experience.” says Young.  

The artwork is a celebration of the lagoon, comprising a kaleidoscopic portrait of Venice, a collage of the artist’s original photographs and images found in archives during visits to the city’s museums, churches and palazzos A participatory project is programmed at the opening of the exhibition with artist Irene Machetti where everyone is invited to marry the sea, challenging visitors to rethink the idea of dominion over the sea. 

Title: Marriage of the Sea (the rape of Venice) /  Sposalizio del Mare (il ratto di Venezia)

Artist: Austin Young / Fallen Fruit

Opening: April 18 from 5 to 10 p.m.

Opening performance: 6pm to 8pm visitors will mary the sea in a ceremony with artist Irene Machetti.  

Where: THE POOL NYC at PALAZZO CESARI MARCHESI

Calle Rombiasio 2539, Campo Santa Maria del Giglio, 30124 Venice

Vaporetto: Giglio

Hours: 11am- 1pm/ 2- 7 pm – Closed on Tuesdays

Technical sponsor: PROMEMORIA

Technical sponsor for the opening: Franco Profumiere Venezia.

Detail of Sposalizio del Mare (il ratto di Venezia)’, by Austin Young of Fallen Fruit. dimensions variable, 2024. Image courtesy of the artist.

In the artist’s own words, “For hundreds of years on Ascension Day, a sacrifice was made. A glorious golden ring was thrown into the water that affirmed Venice’s dominion over the Adriatic Sea. The magic of this divine sacrifice was so powerful that it lasted centuries. Amid a dwindling population, the fouling of her canals, increasingly encroaching tides, and the loss of community through short term rentals, it is time to re-invoke this ancient vow: ‘Desponsamus te, mare, in signum veri perpetuique dominii!’ We marry you, sea, as a symbol of true and perpetual dominion!” 

Detail of Sposalizio del Mare (il ratto di Venezia)’, by Austin Young of Fallen Fruit. dimensions variable, 2024. Image courtesy of the artist

Viola Romoli and Luigi Franchin directors of THE POOL NYC add“This sublime and immersive artwork depicts an allegorical image of Venice that has been seduced by tourism, sacrificing its cultural capital and the environment for greed. A profound exploration of beauty, identity and social norms permeates the artist’s work, giving it a depth and relevance that resonates with audiences around the world.”

Join artist Austin Young and THE POOL NYC for the opening night event on April 18, where visitors will marry the sea in a ceremony with artist Irene Machetti.

ABOUT AUSTIN YOUNG / FALLEN FRUIT

Austin Young is a multidisciplinary artist whose trademark style interprets a nuanced visual language of beauty, pop culture, art history, folk art, and transgressive underground exuberance. Whether he’s working in photography and video-based modes of performative portraiture, engaging in assertive visibility for Queer culture, or advocating for a community-based resource sharing culture, Young’s interest is in illustrating the sublime qualities of humanity that moves us all forward.
Fallen Fruit is an art collaboration originally conceived in 2004 by David Burns, Matias Viegener and Austin Young. Since 2013, David and Austin have continued the collaborative work.  Much of the work they create is linked to ideas of place and generational knowledge, and it echoes a sense of connectedness with something very primal – our capacity to share the world with others. Recent permanent artworks and museum exhibitions include Chiotro del Bramante in Rome, Accademia Carrara in Bergamo, Orto Botanico in Palermo, V&A in London, LACMA in Los Angeles, Manifesta 12 in Palermo, NGV Triennial  in Melbourne, and more.
www.austinyoung.com www.fallenfruit.org
Instagram: @austinyoungforever @fallen_fruit 

ABOUT IRENE MACHETTI

Irene Machetti (Venice, 1996) uses food as her artistic medium and a tool for anthropological and socio-cultural investigation, studying the traditions and norms that regulate it. Challenging ancient rites and customs, she creates edible installations and performative projects that establish a dialogue between art and food, involving the visitor’s body and senses. Her research expands into the journalistic and curatorial field: Machetti writes about art and food on FAD Magazine (where she founded the column “FOOD ART” ) and Artribune. 

Irene Machetti holds a BA in Art History from the Courtauld Institute of Art (London), followed by an MA at the LUISS Business School (Rome). The artist participates in projects between London and Italy, including: Collective Recipes (Open Space Contemporary, London, 2020); Contaminami (Cable Bakery, London, 2020 and Festival “I Tramonti di Tinia”, Azienda Agricola Spada, Sutri, 2023); Mi sono scordata di dirti che (Tropismi della memoria, Rome, 2023); Art Diners with Catriona Gallagher (Rome, 2024).

Sketch for Sposalizio del Mare (il ratto di Venezia)’, by Austin Young of Fallen Fruit. (in progress) digital collage printed on watercolor paper, 2024. Image courtesy of the artist

“Sposalizio del Mare (il ratto di Venezia) / Marriage of the Sea (The Rape of Venice)” tesse un affascinante racconto visivo e concettuale sul legame ancestrale tra la Serenissima e l’Adriatico. Austin Young / Fallen Fruit realizza un inedito ed immersivo wall covering di grandi dimensioni creato appositamente per Venezia. Tessuto e tende velate rivestono le pareti e le finestre del palazzo.

Come artista, cerco di creare un’esperienza sublime che cambia le sensazioni una volta entrati nella stanza. L’obiettivo è di condividere le mie percezioni attraverso un’avventura estetica”, afferma Young.

Il lavoro di Austin Young è insieme celebrazione e ritratto di Venezia, è un collage di fotografie originali dell’artista e di immagini tratte dagli archivi durante le sue visite nei musei, nelle chiese e nei palazzi della città.

L’artista americano spiega: “Per centinaia di anni, nel giorno dell’Ascensione, è stato compiuto un sacrificio. Si gettava in acqua un glorioso anello d’oro che affermava il dominio di Venezia sull’Adriatico. La magia di questo sacrificio divino è stato così potente da durare per secoli. Tra la diminuzione della popolazione, l’incrostazione dei canali, le maree sempre più alte e la perdita della comunità a causa degli affitti a breve termine, è tempo di rievocare questo antico voto: “Desponsamus te, mare, in signum veri perpetuique dominii! Ti sposiamo, mare, come simbolo del vero e perpetuo dominio!”.

Per l’evento di apertura del 18 Aprile è previsto un progetto partecipativo con l’artista Irene Machetti. I visitatori sono invitati a sposare il mare.

Viola Romoli e Luigi Franchin, direttori di THE POOL NYC, affermano: “Questa coinvolgente installazione d’arte, sublime e immersiva rappresenta un’immagine allegorica di Venezia sedotta dal turismo, una città che ha sacrificato il suo capitale culturale e l’ambiente per avidità. Un’accurata ricerca della bellezza, dell’identità e delle norme sociali permea il lavoro dell’artista, conferendogli una profondità e una rilevanza che fa presa con il pubblico di tutto il mondo.”

ABOUT THE POOL NYC 

THE POOL NYC is a contemporary art gallery founded in New York in 2009, specializing in modern and contemporary artists and Murano glass. In November 2017 THE POOL NYC opened a permanent home in Palazzo Fagnani Ronzoni in Milan. On the occasion of the Venice Biennale, the gallery organizes a major art exhibition in the lagoon. The gallery stands out for its search for innovative artistic expressions and the rediscovery of artists fundamental to the History of the 20th century. THE POOL NYC is committed to offer an inclusive and diverse platform, welcoming a wide range of artistic mediums, including painting, sculpture, photography and installations. With a focus on experimentation and critical reflection, the gallery promotes meaningful dialogues on contemporary issues through art.

Fallen Fruit (2023-2024)The Fallen Fruit Collective, composed of artists David Allen Burns and Austin Young, was commissioned by the Museum in 2022 to create a large-scale public work of art entitled Monument to Sharing. This living installation is the first element of a multi-phased Museum expansion scheduled for completion in early 2025. Monument to Sharing involves planting approximately twenty-one fruit-bearing trees, a berry patch and a series of edible pollinators that the public is welcome to “harvest,” inviting guests to explore ideas of generosity, agricultural production and the meaning behind “community.” The project will be completed in 2030. The fellowship was awarded specifically for the Center to collect a 20-year retrospective archive of the collaborative’s work.

Our new permanent artwork at the Nevada Museum of Art