Installation in the Martin Schalling House at Amberg, Bavaria
(Protestant church und community centre)

Inside and Outside, Light and Transparency

Merging indoors and outdoors, this glass cube works in dialogue with the seasons – and it’s unconventional and new.
It was designed by architect Georg Zunner and his employee Michal Graef, and it is complemented with works by sculptor Herbert Lankl (who produced the altar and the ambo) and artist Traude Linhardt.

Traude Linhardt created the free-standing panel (260 x 160 cm) showing the cross, which stands behind the ambo. She also produced the ten other semi-transparent nettle-cloth panels (260 x 130 cm) that can be seen in the chancel. Being attached to frames, these can be easily moved to various positions in the circle under the dome, allowing the church’s interior space to be flexibly shaped as needed.

The coarse and fine nettle-cloth panels are covered in numerous layers of acrylic paints and pigments. These have been removed and reapplied resulting in 6 to 12 layers of colour. These give the two sides of each panel the look and feel of a fresco and remind the observer of old walls and transience. Being translucent, the panels can be positioned to overlap with each other. Their colours change with the time of day or year.

In terms of colour, the cross panel features variations on the hues of the shell-limestone in the ambo and altar. Its scraped surfaces are a reminder of Christ’s suffering, while deep cuts into the layers of pigment highlight the shape of the cross that adorns the front of the panel. Like all of Linhardt’s works in the Martin-Schalling- Haus, this piece is designed to be viewed from either side. As the sum of all colours, the white of the cross on the reverse of the panel represents the union of humankind and the unity of Christianity.

The colours of the different panels were chosen with a clear purpose. The two white panels represent joy, clarity and purity while the yellow ones radiate warmth, their golden tones representing light and eternity. Deep orange, meanwhile, is the colour of the sun and its warming rays whereas grey, which remind us of grief and death, is the colour of the panel that stands directly adjacent to the cross. As a substitute for the colour red, deep pink stands for fire, blood, life and joy.

The transparency and colour of the design of this interior space are intended to create a secure environment in which worshippers can lead a dialogue with God as well as with their fellow human beings.

Traude Linhardt