The design of G*d. Reflections between Heaven and Earth at the Jewish Museum Vienna creates a space for thought and discussion.
Inspired by the idea of God as the builder of the world (“Bore Olam”), the architectural concept is based on the duality of the material and the immaterial. Heaven and earth, often described as the first works of creation, symbolise these contradictions. The exhibition begins in the dark Prologue Room, a boundless sphere of the unknown that reflects the vastness of the universe. From there, the path leads to the bright Introductory Room – a space with a view of the sky, flooded with daylight. An installation of paper loops with quotations about God gives a first indication of the following chapters and the interaction between graphics and exhibition architecture. At the end of the tour, this room will leave visitors with a different perspective.
Seven chapters in six exhibition rooms, designed in different shades of blue, evoke the spiritual symbolism of heaven. A circumferential band of bricks, embodying earth and materiality, connects the exhibits thematically. Specific views make the colour sequences of the rooms legible and place the chapters and their works of art in a visual dialogue. Precise lighting, linked to the story of creation, sets the stage for the objects – from ritual artefacts to contemporary art – and emphasises their symbolic significance.
The tension between the simple and the sublime is heightened by the choice of materials: raw, porous bricks are juxtaposed with elaborate, refined artefacts. This tension between groundedness and transcendence reflects the idea of a world created out of opposites. Individual silver glazed bricks take advantage of this dichotomy and mark out special objects in the room. The design opens up a new perspective on the divine – through an interplay of aesthetics and sensuality, existential questions between heaven and earth are made tangible.