In Zurich, Sabine Marcelis turns light into space
· BehindLines newsroom
Can light become the main material of an exhibition? The Museum für Gestaltung Zürich is presenting the work of Sabine Marcelis in an exhibition announced for October 30, 2026 to April 4, 2027. Its opening night is scheduled for October 29 at the Toni-Areal. These announcements describe the planned programme; they are not a report on the evening.
Objects that change their surroundings
The museum highlights research into colour, transparency and reflection. The designer works notably with glass, resin and natural stone. The exhibition combines existing groups of work with light installations designed for this venue, as well as samples that let visitors follow her research into materials.
Among the announced installations is an eleven-metre walk-through tunnel made of 125 luminaires and a reflective wall. Another installation combines eight lava-lamp-type luminaires, almost three metres high, with mirror walls. With Boris Acket, Marcelis also presents a piece in which mechanical waves in a thin layer of water meet a moving light source. The museum's presentation of the works.
The interest of this route lies in the change of scale: a luminaire can light an object, but a set of lights and reflections can also transform how a room is perceived. It is a way of approaching design through the experience of looking rather than through the isolated object alone.
Two dates to tell apart
Switzerland Tourism announces the opening night on October 29 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., with an introduction by the designer and the curator Damian Fopp. The exhibition's opening is announced for 7:30 p.m. The listing states that the evening is free, with no registration, at Pfingstweidstrasse 96. These conditions apply to the opening night; they do not hold for every later visit.
The exhibition officially begins the next day. For visitors, telling the opening evening apart from the presentation's calendar avoids confusing a one-off event with several months on view.