OGNA
Open to all
The Graubünden Oberland municipality of Trun – the artist’s birthplace – supported the realization of the sculpture and provided the land. The heirs and numerous sponsors contributed to the construction, which was opened in May 2013.
The largest walk-in sculpture in Switzerland is located in the middle of the imposing Graubünden Oberland mountains and forms a surprising unity with them. The acoustics inside the sculpture are phenomenal and continue to inspire artists to create concerts and performances.
You are cordially invited to visit OGNA (pronunciation: Oña) in Trun!
The artist to Ogna
“In 1996, I discovered an iron tube in a locksmith’s shop in Winterthur. I asked the blacksmith to cut it in half and then weld it back together in an offset position. This gave me the idea for a new sculpture.
This form stayed with me for years and the desire grew in me to create a walk-in concrete sculpture from it. I was extremely pleased that my home municipality of Trun expressed an interest in having the work built on a site it had offered. It is an honor for me to leave behind a work that is accessible to everyone at all times.”
Matias Spescha, 2007
Monumental work OGNA
The monumentality of the sculpture is impressive: the structure, which is open at the top, measures 48 m in length, 30 m in width and rises 5.5 m in height.
The resulting interior with its plain marl floor is accessible from the south via an opening in the wall.
The walls in the “inner courtyard” are covered with paintings by the artist, as he had specified in the model. Sculptures are placed at a few points in the room.
The sculpture owes its name OGNA to the “Ogna” (alder) meadow, a strip of alder forest.
Posthumous work
The first steps towards financing were taken from spring 2008. In the middle of these preparations, Matias Spescha died unexpectedly in June 2008. However, contributors and heirs agreed that this incomparable, unique work should be realized.
The OGNA Foundation, established for this purpose, took on this task after the artist’s death. The ground-breaking ceremony took place on May 1, 2012. One year later, on May 4, 2013, OGNA was opened and has since been accessible to everyone at all times without restriction.
Clear specifications
Before his death, Matias Spescha worked out the construction and design of the sculpture down to the smallest detail, recorded it in models and sketches and planned it with the Ilanz architects Vincenz + Weishaupt.
This made it possible to realize the project authentically and in accordance with the artist’s ideas. The construction work, which placed high demands on the local construction company due to the unusual shape of the building, took a year.
Contributors
Planning and construction management on behalf of the OGNA Foundation:
Vincenz + Weishaupt architekts AG, Ilanz
Baumeisterarbeiten:
Beer SA, Rabius
Bau und Montage der Plastiken im Innenraum:
Fis Guldimann, Trun
Wandmalereien im Innenraum:
Marcus Schmed, Trun, Venice Spescha, Zürich
Koordination:
Giusep und Renata Decurtins-Deplazes, Trun
Impressions of past events
Ensemble Origen
As a Trunser, Clau Scherrer has often wondered what it is like to hear music in the OGNA sculpture that works with the same means of abstraction as Matias Spescha, who created OGNA. Preferably very old and new music.
Singers: Sybille Diethelm, soprano; Judit Scherrer, soprano; Marian Dijkhuizen, alto; Lisa Lüthi, alto; Jakob Pilgram, tenor; Valentin Gloor, tenor; Retus Pfister, bass; Lothar Burtscher, bass
Conductor: Clau Scherrer
Saturday, July 27, 2019, 8:00 pm
Sunday, July 28, 2019, 11:00 a.m.