La Congiunta
Modern Ancient Wisdom
A pilgrimage to La Congiunta in the Ticino canton of Switzerland reflects on the relationship between an artist and an architect and invites us to dwell between definitions to reconnect with humanity.
Viewing art is an all-embracing experience. Where, when, surrounded by whom, are important elements: a combination of architecture, human presence and light. At La Congiunta, an atypical museum designed for Swiss sculptor Hans Josephsohn (1920-2012) and built in 1992, architect Peter Märkli (b.1953) became the conductor of an orchestra that harmonised a concrete structure, the landscapes of the Alps and sculpted forms that reflect on our human condition.
The relationship between Josephsohn and Märkli unfolded naturally. The architect first encountered the artist’s work as a student at ETH Zurich and paid a visit to his studio. “When I knocked on his door, he told me he didn’t train apprentices. I replied that I wanted to become an architect, not a sculptor and told him that the reliefs I had seen in a magazine had greatly impressed me. That’s how a long friendship began and for about two years during my studies, I worked there two afternoons a week.”
They often discussed the idea of constructing a building specifically for the permanent display of some of his sculptures. When Märkli, by chance, came across the plot of land where La Congiunta now stands, a foundation was established. “It was not a commission from him. Josephsohn entrusted the entire project to us [his architectural office, Studio Märkli, established in 1978 in Zurich] and the foundation. He accepted the design and the proposal to show only two types of his pieces [reliefs and half-figures].”
The architecture emerged from Märkli’s deep connection with Josephsohn’s artistic vision and his desire to transcend the concept of a museum as we know it. Inside conventional museums, we enter self-contained spaces detached from their external surroundings and even from other rooms. The intention is to focus on artworks undisturbed, read text on the walls that places them in context and to follow a pre-defined educational narrative.
La Congiunta has been conceived differently. There are no texts, no guides or guardians, nor suggested order. The sculptures don’t want to be explained; they ask to be observed and reflected upon by individuals, who will each have their own unique impressions.
