A Meeting with Mireille Fulpius: When Sculpture Dialogues with the Mountain

Created by Mireille Fulpius, a work of complete transparency projects its slender silhouette onto the Esplanade des Combins. We meet the Geneva-based artist who invites silence, space, and the viewer’s gaze into the heart of her creations.

“A few lines and a great deal of empty space are enough to give birth to a work that everyone will complete with their own gaze.”
Mireille Fulpius

Mireille Fulpius, Bons baisers d’Islande “Colonne 2026” ©DR

What was the genesis of this first collaboration with the Festival?

It came about through Myriam Bongard, who exhibited some of my works in her pop-up gallery in Verbier last winter. As its name suggests—“Bons baisers d’Islande – Colonne”—this piece was born from my fascination with the basalt columns of that country. Upon discovering its new home, I found that it entered into a natural dialogue with the surrounding mountains.

Could you shed some light on your creative process?

My work is fueled by the repetition of very simple forms. In this particular case, they are ultimately just lines—metal tubes that suggest a volume without ever enclosing it. Emptiness is an integral part of the work. With very little material, I try to create a visual that everyone can make their own and inhabit with their gaze, a visual that, through a kinetic effect, can appear to be in motion. The projected shadows also play an essential role by extending the work onto the ground.

Having worked with wood for a long time, what does metal inspire in you?

While wood has been with me since my time at the Beaux-Arts and remains the material for my installations in the heart of nature, metal offers me extraordinary freedom. I can cut, re-weld, modify, enlarge—in short, perform a much more evolutionary type of work. This flexibility corresponds perfectly to the way I construct my pieces.

Interview by Marie-Madeleine Gabioud

TALKS: From Stage to Landscape, Culture in Verbier.

5:00 PM | Forum, Pavillon des Combins

In conversation with Mireille Fulpius and Verbier 3-D Sculpture Park

Moderator: Paul Goodwin

Free admission

The Verbier Festival wishes to express its deepest gratitude to its patrons, sponsors, partners and public institutions for their support and generous contributions.