James Turrell: Above – Between – Below

After more than two years of construction work and closure, the Bremen Kunsthalle has been reopened. More than EUR 35 million were invested in two new wings and in modernising the existing building. The original symmetry of the neo-classical building dating back to 1849 has been restored by the design created by the Berlin-based architectural studio Hufnagel, Pütz, Rafaelian. The core of the refurbished old building is a so-called artists contribution to the buildings architecture: the lighting installation above – between – below designed especially for this building by renowned US lighting artist James Turrell. The three-floor installation comprises three lighting spaces positioned exactly on top of each other. These rooms are linked with each other by glazed walk-over sight openings framed by LED light lines in variable colours. This visual axis seems to extend not only through the entire building, but also right through the Earth: for on the ground floor there is a black oval granite slab dotted with Starflex light outlets by Zumtobel. Looking down from the first floor, the light points form the starry sky of the antipodes to the Kunsthalle: to be precise, the sky at the opposite point of the Earth, somewhat to the north of New Zealand, as seen on 23 June 1963, the day on which the Kunsthalle was reopened after World War II. Upwards, the (starry) sky of Bremen is visible through the oval openings cut in the ceilings. Thus, the visitor seems to be standing right in the centre of the Earth. Thanks to the variable colours of the light lines, the visitors’ perception changes continuously. On the second floor, the elliptical chamber opens up towards the sky above Bremen, which can be watched through the opening by visitors seated on the benches along the perimeter. Via an LED light line, the lighting experience is immersed in various colours, which changes the visitors’ perception of the sky. Turrell’s installation thus creates a so-called skyspace – a unique link between the Earth and the sky. US artist James Turrell became famous mainly for his skyspaces, installations with light and space and his life’s work, the Roden Crater, an extinct volcano where a variety of celestial phenomena can be viewed in various skyspaces.