Light art from Maastricht
Maastricht is known for its sparkle, which comes to the fore in spectacular fashion in the winter months. At this time of year, thousands of lights encapsulate the warmth that you feel in Maastricht. The warmth that always brings us together, even at a distance. The historic bridges are artfully adorned with stunning garlands. From the station to Vrijthof square, the city is a dazzling sea of lights. At three separate locations in the city, you’ll find must-see light art. Here, we turn our spotlight on these beautiful creations.
The light artworks can no longer be viewed in Maastricht. In case you missed them, you can read all about them in this blog.
Beacons of Hope and Light - Onze Lieve Vrouweplein
Let’s start with the work ‘Beacons of Hope and Light.’ Artists Adalbert Gans and Axel Daeseleire have previously taken this colourful light display to Antwerp, where the artworks illuminated the dark days of Covid. Now, the work is crossing the border to bring light to the literal dark days of winter. Although Covid hasn't gone away, this work fits in perfectly with Maastricht's sparkling cityscape and can be found in a very special location: the always stunning Onze Lieve Vrouweplein. The five unique monolithic light objects are decorated with personal texts by various artists: Frans Budé, Axel Daeseleire, Lale Gül, Ruben Oppenheimer and Amber Helena Reisig. In their words, they write about hope, light, and how this dark time of year affects them. These objects, figurative sentinels of the city, radiate from within the light at the end of the tunnel. Stroll past them to experience the warmth of the colour and the special words.
Funky Town - Sphinx quarter
‘Won’t you take me to, funky town?’. This is the song that is stuck in our heads whenever we've visited the Sphinx quarter. Because this innovative corner of the city is also making the most of these winter months. Here, you’ll discover the light artwork by artist duo Funky Town (Cher & Roosje). Which, incidentally, has nothing to do with the 1979 number one by Lipps Inc. Whenever you admire a work of art, a light instantly switches on. The ‘floating’ house with ‘balloons’ of colour and light is a combination of the house from the animated film ‘UP’ and a famous gingerbread house.
Light art - Plein 1992, Centre Céramique
Finally, we’d like to introduce you to the ‘Light art’ of Stang Gubbels, on Plein 1992 at Centre Céramique. When the sun sets, and right now that’s earlier than you think, a unique work of light art appears. It is projected onto the Centre Céramique building. If you come to admire this artwork in the evening, you’ll discover that it unites various functions in a visual way. Stang has illustrated the history of Maastricht in an exquisite and unexpected way, incorporating it in a 64-metre steel panel on the second floor of the building. Through the magic of light art his work - which can normally only be admired indoors - has been conjured onto the outside of the building.
