Grand Opening, May 4, 2024

 

14.00–16.00: Meet the artists at their sculptures. 

17.00–18.00: Opening ceremony on the Giessenpark Festwiese with speeches, comedy, and culinary delights

19.00: Les Chouettes

20.45: Ribelsteaks

21.30 - 01.00: Afterparty with DJ OK

 

Exhibition period and opening hours:

May 4 - October 30, 2024, the exhibition is accessible around the clock (admission free)

 

The “present” – without today, tomorrow there would be no yesterday.

 

The “present” remains in the future for now, as not until 4 May 2024 will Bad Ragartz be welcoming visitors from all over the world to the 9th Swiss Triennial of Sculpture. Until 30 October 2024, selected works of internationally renowned artists will make the “present” both visible and tangible in parks, gardens, streets, and squares.

 

At the 9th Swiss Triennial of Sculpture, Nicolas Vionnet and Wouter Sibum are set to present their collaborative work "Nebenbei". The installation deals with the perception of isolation. Even from a distance, passers-by are presented with a strange sight: a playful water fountain rises rhythmically from a 40-foot sea container and disappears again. The oversized fountain in the middle of the village center is an attractive element, inviting visitors inside the container. There, they find themselves in an idyllic garden landscape complete with a pond. Although the sounds, smells and weather of the outside world are still perceptible here, the interior of the container opens up a parallel world in which the daily routine can be forgotten for a brief moment. In this moment of pause, the feeling of isolation can be consciously or unconsciously experienced in a new and perhaps positive way.

 

Furthermore, the work provokes an examination of the nature of sculpture itself. The water fountain with its ephemeral appearance and the organic structures inside, which stand in clear contrast to the technical and metallic shell of the container, encourage us to rethink and reinterpret the classic concept of sculpture.

 

With the following links you will find further information about the Triennial and the joint projects of Nicolas Vionnet & Wouter Sibum.