A pilgrimage to Val Gardena, the mecca of wood carving art. Visiting internationally renowned artists from South Tyrol (Italy) in four days. I created a dream itinerary for myself that leads along the workshops of Walpoth, the Demetzes, Verginer and Prugger.
A pilgrimage to Val Gardena also leads past the studio of wood artist Willy Verginer.
Val Gardena has been a center of wood carving since the 17th century. What once began as a pastime for farmers during harsh winters grew into an internationally renowned tradition of craft and art. In the 18th and 19th centuries, religious statues, nativity scenes and wooden toys were exported throughout Europe and even South America. To this day, wood artists in this valley create religious representations.
A Living Tradition
Key factors behind the tradition in South Tyrol are:
+ Generational transfer of skills from father to son, and nowadays also to daughter.
+ Apprentice-master systems and local vocational schools — traditionally young people learn in botteghe (studios) alongside formal education. This art high school and provincial vocational school for arts and crafts is often referred to as ‘Cademia’. At this gymnasium, woodworking skills, visual techniques and design are also taught.
+ Strong connection with natural materials, especially linden wood, whose unique properties allow for very detailed figurative work,
+ Cultural collaborations that present artists collectively. There is also a gallery in town with exhibitions of modern wood artists, the Galleria Doris Ghetta.
Base Camp Ortisei / Sankt Ulrich
The central base for wood carving in this valley is Ortisei – also known as Sankt Ulrich and Urtijëi. This area once belonged to Austria, which explains the triple names: Italian, German and the local original name.
Throughout the town, wood carving can be found: in shop windows, in churches, in hotels. Where wood carvers once worked mainly for churches, they now also create work for tourists who come for the ski slopes of the Dolomites.
Ortisei / Sankt Ulrich, a town in the Val Gardena valley, beneath the sharp peaks of the Dolomites.
At the same time, new forms have emerged: artists reinterpret the tradition and create modern, sophisticated work that is appreciated both locally and internationally. Many artists still work figuratively and sell their life-sized sculptures for large sums at international art fairs such as Art Miami.
Here is my personal ‘pilgrimage’ (or: sculpture tour) along studios, galleries and workshops of contemporary Val Gardena sculptors.
In my short biographies of these artists, I focus on aspects that make their work very special to me. Their journey from tradition is fascinating: still figurative, but with a depth that makes their sculptures unique in this world.
Day 1 – Orientation in Ortisei
+ Goal: getting acquainted with the town and the tradition of wood carving
+ Location: Center of Ortisei / Urtijëi
+ Address: Ortisei, 39046 Bolzano (BZ), Italy
+ Tips: Church of Ortisei (Parrocchia di San Giacomo), shops and windows full of local wood art.
+ What to see: traditional wood carving, altar sculptures, (perhaps) nativity scenes and small gallery exhibitions. Galerie Demetz is an excellent option, has existed since 1872.
Day 2 – Bruno Walpoth and Doris Ghetta
+ Bruno Walpoth – the vulnerable human
Bruno Walpoth honors the vulnerable human, huddled, turned inward, closed off from the outside world. Adults lie in fetal position on the ground. By painting his sculptures with white primer, his life-sized carved people also appear as shadows of themselves. These characteristics make Walpoth one of the most famous representatives of contemporary wood carvers from Val Gardena.
+ Biography of Bruno Walpoth on Wowwood
Then
+ Galleria Doris Ghetta – collective exhibitions
+ Address: Pontives 8, 39046 Ortisei
+ Phone: +39 393 932 3927
+ Email: info@dorisghetta.com
+ Website: dorisghetta.com
+ What to see, hopefully: work by Walter Moroder, Markus Delago.
The internationally famous wood artists of Val Gardena today stand on the shoulders of their ancestors.
Day 3 – Aron and Gehard Demetz
+ Aron Demetz – memento mori
The memento mori of Aron Demetz are not classical artworks with skulls, wilted flowers or hourglasses. His wooden sculptures make death itself visible. The heads and bodies of his sculptures show traces of transience and decay. Demetz shows the inevitable end, without passing moral judgment.
+ Biography of Aron Demetz on Wowwood
Then…
+ Gehard Demetz – doubling of faces
Gehard Demetz doubles faces. Especially those of children, who at a young age are forced to adopt existing role models as identity. A girl is presented with the attributes of the Virgin Mary. They function almost as a mask that half covers the face.
+ Biography of Gehard Demetz on Wowwood
Day 4 – Willy Verginer and Gregor Prugger
+ Willy Verginer – prayers on an oil barrel
Willy Verginer prays on an oil barrel, while an aluminum color plane indicates the rising sea level. The oil drums return in numerous other sculptures. A child can no longer play carefree in the water due to all the floating barrels and other debris around them. A young deer stands orphaned on an oil drum. A woodpecker pecks a hole in such a barrel. A man drowns in it.
+ Biography of Verginer on Wowwood
Then
+ Gregor Prugger – heart of wood
Gregor Prugger has made a heart of wood. From the heart-shaped sculpture sprouts a bunch of branches that strikingly resembles the widely branched bloodstream in human lungs. This wood artist from Val Gardena tells a story that is already hidden in the wood. He only adds something of himself to it.
+ Biography of Gregor Prugger on Wowwood
Bruno Walpoth was one of the exhibitors at the Val Gardena artists exhibition in Apeldoorn.
Remarkably, members of this group of artists once had an exhibition in the Netherlands, at the CODA museum in Apeldoorn, in 2010. Newspaper De Stentor reported on it and spoke with the organizer, Tirza Verrips. He preceded me on pilgrimage to Val Gardena and came home with wonderful stories. De Stentor: ‘He tells about wood carvers who as early as the eighteenth century exported semi-finished products (doll heads, arms, and legs) to the Low Countries. Our ancestors made dolls from them and sold them dressed and all to England, from where they ended up in America among other places. Verrips laughs. “Holländische Puppen”, they were called. “We now know their origin.”‘
A fitting place to stay for the night? The Arthotel Anterleghes in Selva promises to be full of works by artists from Val Gardena. Still need to check if this is nearby. And it’s quite a pricey option, too.
Download here a presentation (PDF) of the 5 described artists from Val Gardena.
Jan Bom, January 20, 2026
