Frau im Fels

Snapshot

A female figure presses out from a rough stone block set into the wall of the Toscaninihof, the courtyard tucked behind the Felsenreitschule. Installed in 2007 by Stephan Balkenhol. Walk of Modern Art #5. The companion piece to Sphaera on Kapitelplatz, operating on opposite principles.

The Story

Stephan Balkenhol is known for human figures carved from raw wood or cast into rough material: ordinary, unexpressive presences that resist both heroism and sentiment. His contribution to the Walk of Modern Art is split across two locations in Salzburg’s Festival precinct, and the split is the point.

On Kapitelplatz, Sphaera places a small male figure on top of a gleaming golden sphere, elevated and entirely exposed in one of the largest open squares in the Altstadt. It is public, conspicuous, and slightly absurd: a tiny person on an enormous golden ball, watched by hundreds of passersby daily.

Here, in the Toscaninihof behind the Felsenreitschule, the opposite. A female figure emerges from a rough stone block set into the wall of the courtyard, pressed partway through the surface but not free of it. She is not performing. She is not displayed. She is barely there, in a space that most visitors to the Festival quarter pass without entering.

Balkenhol installed both in 2007. Together they form a dialogue across the Festival quarter between exposure and concealment, between presence in the open and emergence from stone. The Toscaninihof piece is the harder to find, which is also the reason to look for it.

Visiting

• Location: Toscaninihof, the courtyard behind the Felsenreitschule, accessible from Hofstallgasse, central Salzburg.
• Getting there: From the Altstadt, enter the Toscaninihof via the passage from Hofstallgasse. The courtyard is behind the main Festival buildings.
• Hours: Always accessible (outdoor public space).
• Cost: Free.
• Time needed: 5 minutes.
• Tips: Combine with Sphaera on Kapitelplatz to experience both works as a pair. The courtyard is often quiet even when the Festival precinct is busy.