Vincent Fournier - Scala claustralium, Kunstumuseum Thurgau

For the second time since 2020, the Kirchwingert vineyard at Ittingen Charterhouse is being transformed into an accessible ladder to heaven. The 185 steps leading up the vineyard will be fitted with sky-blue wooden planks. The result is an astonishing effect: just as the staircase rises steeply to the top of the hill, the painted steps seem to be added one by one, drawing a blue ribbon through the vines. The sky leans towards the earth. Heaven and earth unite.

During the initial construction of the Ittingen ladder to heaven, Vincent Fournier became aware of the writing “Scala claustralium” (The monks' ladder) by the Carthusian monk Guigo II (+1197) in 2020. The simplicity and depth of the monk's writing touched Fournier and flowed into his artistic work. He continued to develop the theme.

The works in the Kunstmuseum Thurgau, which can be seen in an originally preserved monk's cell, trace the artist's inner search. In this place, where monks have immersed themselves in silence for centuries, art, which itself comes from silence, finds its appropriate space and leads the viewer to their own meditation.