Antony Gormley: Britain's greatest sculptor comes to Austria

Lake Constance - Vorarlberg
attraction of world renown is the Kunsthaus
Bregenz, the contemporary art gallery
designed by Peter Zumthor, the Pritzker
Prize-winning Swiss architect.
Made of etched glass, cast steel and
concrete, and shaped in ‘living’ forms with
an abundance of natural light in its gallery
spaces, the Kunsthaus has a rolling schedule
of exhibitions from some of the world’s great
contemporary artists, as well as a thorough
programme of tours on arts and architecture.
And once you’ve explored the Kunsthaus
– which with its wide piazza at its heart is
somewhere to spend a day or two – there is
a plethora of modern and contemporary art
galleries in Bregenz.
The views
Just a few minutes’ walk through the town
centre of Bregenz from the museum you’ll find
the bottom station of the Pfänder cable car.
Hop on, and six minutes later you emerge
to...something quite spectacular. Just as the
cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin once commented
that the best way to see our planet was when
you were away from it, viewing from space, so
you might think when viewing the Alps from
the 1064m high top station of the Pfänder.
For Bregenz and Lake Constance actually
lie just to the north of the Alps; the lake is fed
28 a u s t r i a ’ s hi d d e n t r e a s u r e s
What to do and Where to do it...
EVENTS
l The Bregenz Spring Dance Festival has
been in existence for over 20 years and has
evolved into one of the most significant dance
festivals in the region. It kicks off the annual
cultural activities calendar each year. Austrian
premiere performances can be seen on particular
days throughout March, April and May.
l Under the artistic direction of Philippe Arlaud,
this year’s Feldkirch Festival, held on 2nd –
13th June takes the theme of Russian music
of the 20th and 21st century in his continuing
desire to transcend cultural barriers with the
universal language of music.
l The world renowned Kunsthaus Bregenz,
opened in the summer of 1997, is not only
a contemporary art gallery but a work of art
in itself with its cubic-crystal design from the
This page, from top: Test display in the resort of Lech for the
planned Horizon Field project in the Vorarlberg by artist
Antony Gormley; the Kunsthaus Bregenz exterior.
by the River Rhine at the point the Alpine
scenery gives way to the forested hills of
northern Europe. So the Pfänder is like a
natural viewing station facing the wall of the
Alps. On a clear day you can see 240 Alpine
peaks, from central Switzerland through to
Austria’s Arlberg and Bregenzerwald regions;
to the west and north are the hills of the Black
Forest, and the lake shimmers below.
Back down in town, the views are of a
different kind as you stroll along the lakefront,
perhaps taking a glass of champagne in a café
by a fisherman’s pier. And there are views of a
different kind a short distance away in Feldkirch,
a beautifully preserved medieval town.
Where there is culture there is cuisine, and
the region of Lake Constance in Vorarlberg is
no exception. The lakeside restaurants have a
perfect setting; you can look at the water and
wonder if you saw your dinner before it
arrived on your plate. ■A
horizon Field
Antony Gormley, one of Britain’s foremost
contemporary artists, is planning to unveil his
work ‘Horizon Field’ in the Vorarlberg area,
under the auspices of the Kunsthaus Bregenz,
this summer. Horizon Field consists of 100 lifesize
cast-iron figures of Gormley’s body, spread
at 2039m above sea level, over 100sq km in the
Vorarlberg area. Says Gormley: “The rise of
the great river civilisations has programmed
the human species to see its future well-being
as city-based and in distinction to nature. The
radical revision of the dialectic between nature
and culture is necessary if the present human
population is to successfully confront the issue
of man-made global warming. Horizon Field
asks an open question as to where the human
project fits within the evolution of life on this
planet.” See interview on page 4.
Swiss architect and Pritzker award winner, Peter
Zumthor. Be sure to catch the summer exhibition
from 17th July – 3rd October.
l The Art Bodensee fair in Dornbirn is the
main art fair in the Lake Constance area and is
the only art fair in the region that takes place in
the middle of summer and the only one where
you can chat to gallery owners and artists. It
draws together the talent of fifty galleries from
nine countries. Visit from 23rd – 25th July.
GOOD TO KNOW
For those who wish to attend the world famous
Bregenz Festival (July 21 - August 22, 2010),
stay for 2 nights from €189, including B&B at a
choice of hotels, welcome cocktails, a ticket for
Aïda, a Festival Leisure pack providing entrance
to top places of interest, and an information pack
from the Bodensee-Vorarlberg Tourism Board.
Facts & Figures
Vorarlberg
l Lake Constance
For more information please contact:
Bodensee-Vorarlberg Tourism Board
P.O. Box 16
6901 Bregenz, Austria
Tel: +43 (0) 5574 434430
Fax: +43 (0) 5574 434434
Email: office@bodensee-vorarlberg.com
www.lakeconstance.eu
www.vorarlberg.travel/en
NEArEST AirPOrTS
Friedrichshafen 21 miles (34 km)
Memmingen 48 miles (77 km)
Zurich 80 miles (129 km)
© AnTOny GORMLey, KUnSThAUS BReGenZ; MARKUS TReTTeR