• Foto: Florian Holzherr
  • Foto: Florian Holzherr
  • Foto: Florian Holzherr

»We are not aware that we ourselves give the sky its colors.«

The world-famous Amer­i­can artist James Tur­rell designed a Light­room where sky and earth seem to encounter one anoth­er from a new point of view in the high alpine land­scape of Lech.

Skyspace Lech

At a glance

Opening hours

December 1st - April 19th
open daily
12 noon - 8 pm

April 20th - May, 31st
open daily
9 am - 6 pm

June 1st - November 29th
open daily
between 1 hour before sunrise and 1 hour after sunset

Visiting program

Skyspace-Concept
Light art can only be seen during sunrise and sunset times. Since the cupola must be open for this concept, good weather conditions are necessary. 

During the day and good weather conditions (no showers) the cupola of the Skyspace stays opened. During this time visitors are invited to watch the changing skys combined with the moving light cone of the sun moving along the wall of the sensing room.

Ganzfeld-Effect
During bad weather times the cupola is closed and a second light art program will be performed. This second program creates a Ganzfeld – Effect at the area of the cupola.

Ticket reservation for public tours

Calendar for visits

Here you can find an overview of the upcoming guided tours and details with respect to the opening hours of Skyspace-Lech.

Apr 2024

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Opening hours in April

Opening hours until April, 19th: 12 am to 8 pm. Restricted opening hours from April, 20th until May, 31 due to nature protection requirements (blackcock courtship): 9 am to 6 pm.
Select a day to get more information about visiting times, reservations and guided tours.
closed
private tour
public tour
open
Construction partner:
Information about visit and getting there

Dimensions of light — the dramaturgy of the (in)visible

more

CULTURAL MEDIATION PROJECT WITH ÖKO-MS MÄDER

more

The very youngest discover the Skyspace Lech

more
Journal

Donations welcome!

The Skyspace-Lech was financed and built by a private association.

This association provides free year-round access to all visitors interested in art.

The maintenance of the Skyspace is a great financial burden for the association.

We are therefore very happy that many interested visitors make a small contribution to the preservation through donations. Thank you very much!

Donation account
Raiffeisenbank Lech
IBAN: AT31 3744 9000 0011 4579
BIC: RVVGAT2B449
Purpose of use: Donation Verein Horizon Field – Kunstverein Vorarlberg

James Turrell in Lech, 2014, Picture: Maria Muxel

James Turrell

James Turrell is one of the most significant artists of our time. His work on the Skyspace series started in the 1970s and comprises more than 75 works worldwide.

James Turrell was born in 1943 in Los Angeles as the son of devout Quaker parents. By the age of 16, he had already acquired a pilot’s license and shown a deep curiosity for the sky. While having initially studied Psychology and Mathematics at Pomona College, he ultimately graduated from his studies in Art at the Claremont Graduate School in California in 1973. Since the 1960s, Turrell has been conceptualizing Lightrooms, predominately as big cubes with openings to the sky, often in buildings specifically constructed for the purpose. At the Roden Crater, an extinct volcano in the desert of Arizona, James Turrell initiated the biggest manmade piece of art in history. Taking into consideration astronomical calculations, he constructed a web of Skyspaces in the center of the crater, in which natural and artificial light unite to create a unique sensual experience. The Skyspace-Lech also follows this artistic conception.

James Turrell
James Turrell in Lech, 2014, Foto: Maria Muxel

The region Lech-Zuers

Lech, which is located more than 1450 meters above sea level, is one on the world’s most renowned winter sport locations. Apart from the world-class skiing experience, the Arlberg is known for its high-class hotel and gastronomy sector. Combined, these factors result in a winter experience that surpasses the highest of expectations (www.lechzuers.com). As a result, Lech-Zürs am Arlberg is the adopted home of many demanding winter guests from all over the world. Additionally, more and more guests are also visiting the Lechquellen mountains during the summer months. In recent years, high-class cultural events, especially during summer time, have become more pervasive. Furthermore, the large-scale contemporary art project was undertaken in Lech for the first time via the landscape installation “Horizon Field” by Antony Gormley (2010 – 2012). His work was not only celebrated by guests and locals but also received enormous international accolades.

  • Stefan Sagmeister

    The idea to build a Skyspace designed by James Turrell in Oberlech is excellent because it will allow the viewer to see the world from a new angle. Since James showed me the sky, I see it differently. It’s more beautiful, subtle, better. This is great art that appeals to the curator and, maybe even more importantly, to the amateur.

  • Verena Konrad

    With the Skyspace project of James Turrell, Lech gains an aesthetically valuable, contemplative site where sensual and natural experience meet intellectual reflection. Impressive will be most of all the game between materiality and immateriality through the experiencing of light and color in the space, that reveals itself immediately to anyone that engages with it.

  • Dietmar Eberle

    James Turrell in Lech- an enrichment of my life. A chance for a space in which inner concentration and wide perspectives can become reality.

  • Martin Purtscher

    The location of the lightroom with the grand panorama view will be, not just for our guests but also for the people of Vorarlberg, an occasion to perceive light in a new way.

  • Otto Huber

    The fantastic connection of light, sky, and space is an art experience that can also reach people that do not go to museums.

A personal name stone for the art

As part of the building block campaign, over 200 art lovers from all over the world contributed to the success of the Skyspace-Lech. The name stone is a symbol of this support and a personal reference to the place Lech and the artwork of James Turrell.

Price: 1000,– EUR

Request a name stone

The artist edition to the light space at the mountain

For Horizon Field, the installer association of the Skyspace-Lech, James Turrell designed this print edition. It shows the graphic development of the conception of the Skyspace-Lech. The edition consists of 100 sheets and was numbered and signed by the artist.

Price: 3800,– EUR

Request an artist edition