Tita Giese (b. Nordlingen, 1942; lives and works in Dusseldorf) realizes vegetal landscapes in public settings--urban squares, intersections, and gardens around architectural structures. She spent several semesters at the Dusseldorf Academy of Fine Arts, where she studied with Joseph Beuys, but she does not want to be seen as an artist. Focusing on sites in urban and industrial environments, she helps nature reclaim a niche for itself, developing unique projects at the intersection between art, architecture, urban planning, and botany. She planted bamboo on the grounds of the Dusseldorf airport, palm trees on the square in front of Hamburg's Deichtorhallen, and creepers inside Munich's Salvatorpassage. The art photographers Thomas Ruff and Andreas Gursky hired Giese to design their gardens; she also collaborated with Herzog & de Meuron architects, Basel, on several projects. This book is a catalogue raisonne of sorts of Tita Giese's oeuvre. With contributions by Joachim Bessing, Robert Grunenberg, Thomas Ruff, and Pierre de Meuron.
