The German term “Lichtung”, which can be translated into English as “that which preconditions any light and shadow, allowing both to exist as such,” is one of the fundamental theoretical pillars of Martin Heidegger’s philosophy.

Lichtung is a neologism used by Heidegger to describe the sudden brightness a traveler experiences when walking through a dense forest and emerging into a clearing. In this open space, the traveler briefly admires a view far vaster and more beautiful than what was visible in the shadow of the tall, thick trees. The term does not refer to a tangible entity but rather serves as a “title” for the intricate correlation between Da-Sein (being-there), Sein (being), and truth, encapsulating “what is no longer hidden.”

Lichtung must be understood as the interplay of light and shadow—a metaphorical “chiaroscuro”—that defines presence and absence, vision and revelation. Its etymology offers two significant interpretations:

1. Licht (light): Referring to the illumination that makes entities visible and intelligible.
2. Lichten (to thin out): Suggesting the act of clearing space, allowing for the emergence of essence.

The term is analogous to the French clairière and the English clearing, with Heidegger linking its roots to both the enlightening nature of light and the action of thinning out and creating openness.

The installation “Lichtung” explores these dual meanings through the interplay of presence and absence, materiality and ephemerality. The fifteen totemic glass sculptures serve as a manifesto of both being (Dasein) and non-being (Nicht-Dasein), existing between the built and unbuilt. On one hand, they recall the hyper-presence of Le Corbusier’s Plan Voisin in Paris—radical, utopian, and monumental in scale. On the other, they evoke the ephemeral and fragile nature of Dan Flavin’s light installations, which redefined sculpture as a medium for transforming space and perception.

Flavin’s works introduced an architectural vocabulary, naming pieces “corners,” “corridors,” and “barriers,” as part of his intent to reconceptualize the relationship between sculpture and the space it inhabits. His light sculptures invade the viewer’s space, challenging traditional viewing experiences by asserting their presence. Conversely, they can prompt viewers to question their own relevance in validating the work as art, creating a dynamic interplay between artwork, space, and observer.

In “Lichtung,” the glass sculptures embody this tension, bridging light and form, material and immaterial, and offering a space where the essence of presence and absence can be experienced and contemplated.