Ischgl's "futuristic" and "climatic" open-air gallery is open: At the 29th "Shapes in White" snow sculpture competition from 8 to 13 January 2023, international artist couples shaped the future out of Ischgl snow on and off the piste under the motto "Future, Future-Mobility, Climate". There are eleven spectacular snow sculptures up to ten metres high to marvel at, including a winged "energy bee" (with a wind turbine on its back so that the lady can generate electricity while skiing), a "polar bear in distress", a sailing boat entitled "Unsinkable", a "palm boarder", various means of transport from the Stone Age or the future and, under the name "ÜberALL her nach Ischgl", an alien and spaceship that landed in Ischgl's snow. After careful consideration, the Ischgl jury chose the sculpture "Back to the roots alias Fred Feuerstein" by Ivan Holzknecht and Armin Rifesser from Italy as the winner.
Ice-cold realisation
Ten spectacular snow sculptures, ten international teams of artists from 7 countries, including Germany, Italy, Great Britain, the Czech Republic, the USA, France and Canada, and ultimately just one number one. For the Ischgl jury, the 29th "Shapes in White" snow sculpture competition was an agony of choice: "Every year, the artists impress us anew with their creative interpretations of the theme and their masterful realisation, which makes our choice very difficult. This year we were finally able to welcome ten pairs of international artists back to Ischgl for the competition and can now also reward them with the "immortalisation" of their works as crypto art," says jury member Alexander von der Thannen, Chairman of the Paznaun - Ischgl Tourism Association, delighted with the latest developments. The jury's verdict: Ivan Holzknecht and Armin Rifesser won gold in 2023 with their sculpture "Back to the roots aka Fred Feuerstein". Second place went to Ivo Piazza and Reiner Kasslatter from Italy with "E Unterwegs". Ralf Rosa and Peter Fechtig from Germany took bronze with their "Palmboarder: 2050 - Palmen am Berg und Surfen im Netz".
