One of the basic principles of the villa is its connection between the interior and the exterior. The garden thus becomes part of one space, inhabited and shaped. The ordinary visitor naturally wonders how the villa's inhabitants lived in the constant presence of two open walls, which, unlike the others, are certainly not a passive participant in our existence. They demand action - they demand the gaze.

When our art project was conceived, the question was how to bring the garden space even closer to the interior.

A characteristic feature of this urban garden is the residual light of the city lighting system. A uniform spectrum with a distinct monochromatic trace of orange light becomes an inseparable background for the perception of any urban landscape. If we want to highlight the garden of the villa against this backdrop, there is the possibility to light it and thus separate the immediate surroundings of the villa by changing the light chromaticity.                     

Another motif of the project is the question of capturing the relationship of the villa's inhabitants in the system of reflections and light transmission through the windows, to which they are mercilessly exposed every time they look out of the window. This mirrors not only the walls and furnishings of the villa, but also controls our every movement. How does this relationship affect the increase in light levels of the garden? And what if the lights go out in the villa?

 Vladimír Burian

Garden Illumination is realized in cooperation with Dept. of Lighting Design, JAMU Theatre Faculty.

29 September 2021, 6:00 p.m. exhibition opening 
30 September – 31 October 2021 exhibition of the results of the light intervention on the technical floor of Villa Tugendhat (open Tue–Sun 10:00–17:30 for 50 CZK)
2 October 2021, 7 p. m.  lecture of Vladimír Burian 
Light: kitsch or aesthetic matter (within the programme od Days of Architecture)
Lighting design specialist Vladimír Burian will reveal the history of artificial lighting up to the current trends in the context of the villa. 

Authors of the concept and production of exhibitions: Barbora Benčíková, Ludmila Haasová, Neli Hejkalová, Lucie Valdhansová (Villa Tugendhat Study and Documentation Centre)
Curator: Neli Hejkalová
Graphic design: Atelier Zidlicky
instagram.com/moznosti_interpretace

The exhibition was prepared by the Tugendhat Study and Documentation Centre and was realized with financial support from the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic.