Mirage Gstaad, a house of mirrors

Today we wanted to talk to you about a beautiful place that is much talked about: "Mirage Gstaad".

The installation created by Los Angeles artist Doug Aitken reflects the sumptuous landscape of the Swiss mountains and nature throughout the seasons. This timeless place that has animated Gstaad for the past two years is still visible until February 2021.

After the desert of Palm Springs in 2017, the Californian artist Doug Aitken installed his Mirage in the mountains at the beginning of 2019 at the invitation of the Elevation 1049: Frequencies art biennial. Entirely covered with mirrors, the house is a reference to California Ranch architecture, whose inspiration dates back to Frank Lloyd Wright and found expression in the 1920s and 1930s with the construction of the first suburban pavilions in this style in the United States. The artist conceived his installation as an architectural concept, where the standardized house, emptied of its inhabitants, enters in perfect harmony with its environment, which it reflects as much as it aspires.

If you would like to visit this unique place, please note that the ice-house is located on the hiking trail between Schönried and Gstaad and can only be reached on foot. Parking facilities are available in Schönried.

Doug Aitken (b. 1968, Redondo Beach, California, USA)

Utilizing a wide array of artistic approaches, Doug Aitken’s immersive works lead us into a world where time, space, and memory are fluid concepts. His work has been featured in exhibitions around the world, in such institutions as the Whitney Museum of American Art, The Museum of Modern Art, the Vienna Secession, the Serpentine Gallery in London, and the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris. Aitken earned the International Prize at the Venice Biennale for the installation Electric Earth, the 2012 Nam June Paik Art Center Prize, and the 2013 Smithsonian American Ingenuity Award: Visual Arts.

Photos Credits: Torvioll Jashari

Mirage Gstaad: Official Page