Between Light and Colour in the Church of San Gaudenzio

Can light be made to “sing”? Can darkness be coloured? And can water be brought into dialogue with architecture?

Pietro Pirelli, a light artist, demonstrates with his installation “Fontana di suono”, set up amid the ruins of the Church of San Gaudenzio, that such things are indeed possible. It is a conceptual work of art that dispenses with classical iconography, yet engages in an intense dialogue with history and the sacred – within a sacred space open to the sky.

A similar idea can also be found in a painting by Hannes Gruber, who had a close connection to the Val Bregaglia. For him, the light in the valley was unlike any other, and he captured it in his works. Today, the Val Bregaglia is also home to the Hannes-Gruber-Kunstkabinett, which preserves and displays his works. In Gruber’s piece, a heart and a cross can be discerned, placed at the centre of an abstract structure that might recall the silhouette of a church. Various shades of blue envelop the scene, evoking the fluidity of water as well as a sense of spirituality.