25 February, 2026
The Sky Over Nine Columns is a monumental installation by German artist Heinz Mack, presented in Venice on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore during the 2014 Architecture Biennale.
The work features nine symmetrical columns over seven meters tall, completely sheathed in a golden mosaic composed of more than 800,000 tesserae. Installed as a “skyscape” before the Church of San Giorgio, these luminous monoliths reflect sunlight, moonlight, and the lagoon below, creating a poetic dialogue between earth and sky
For this breathtaking installation, Orsoni Venezia 1888 contributed its unique expertise in gold-leaf mosaic. Using rectangular 2 × 2 cm tesserae in the signature Modern Aureo 024, produced through Orsoni’s historic glass fusion and gold-leaf methods, Orsoni and its parent group TREND clad each of the nine columns in brilliant gold mosaic . The result: an alchemical transformation that radiates Venetian craftsmanship and 24K tradition.
The project was realized in collaboration with the Fondazione Giorgio Cini, curated by Robert Fleck, and supported by TREND Group . More than a striking visual installation, the columns evoke Venice’s historic role as a bridge between East and West. Mack considers each column a human presence standing upright—a testament to dignity, light, and cultural continuity. The gold mosaic surfaces reinforce this heritage, echoing the Byzantine mosaics of San Marco and celebrating centuries of local mastery.
CREDITS
Project
Heinz Mack
Creation by
Beck & Eggeling International Fine Art, Düsseldorf and Sigifredo di Canossa
Realized by
Orsoni Venezia 1888 with the support of TREND Group
Photo
Alessandra Chemollo
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