New exhibition opens in Unna in June 2026
From 13 June 2026 to 10 January 2027, the Centre for International Light Art (ZFIL) in Unna is presenting "Light Dialogues", an exhibition that brings works from the Schauwerk Sindelfingen into dialogue with the centre’s spaces and installations. Around 20 iconic works interact with one another, revealing different artistic strategies for working with light. The exhibition is part of the ZFIL’s 25th anniversary year.
Three themed rooms for form, colour and sign
The interweaving of formal, technical and contextual references reveals how light shapes form and space, how coloured light influences perception and mood, and how luminous text generates meaning. The exhibition is therefore divided into three themed rooms: Form, Colour and Sign.
In the "Form" section, light takes centre stage as a structuring element. It focuses on lines, geometry and spatial relationships. Jeppe Hein’s light sculpture ‘Changing Neon Sculpture’, for example, is reminiscent of the Rubik’s Cube – a rotating puzzle popular in the 1980s – despite the absence of its typical colours.
The next room is devoted to colour: here, artists make deliberate use of the colour of light
to create contrasts, transitions and harmonies, as in the intensely coloured works of Dan Flavin.
In the largest exhibition space, linguistic symbols and visual layers converge. Large-scale neon works by Maurizio Nannucci structure the space between the seven-metre-high pillars as a sequence of statements and counter-arguments.
In addition, the Light Art Centre displays works by John M. Armleder, Martin Creed, Tracey Emin, Lori Hersberger, Astrid Klein, Brigitte Kowanz, François Morellet and Keith Sonnier.
Since 2001, the ZFIL has been presenting exclusively light art in the vaults of the former Linden Brewery in Unna. In addition to the permanent exhibition featuring its own collection of international light art, there are regularly changing exhibitions.