Exhibition on Sabine Marcelis – Light and Colour.
02.11.2026Until 4 April 2027, the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich at the Toni-Areal is hosting the first museum exhibition by the Dutch-New Zealand designer Sabine Marcelis. “Light and Colour” brings together key works spanning fifteen years and a new, specially developed spatial installation. For those interested in exclusive residential property, the exhibition is more than just a design event: it demonstrates how light, materials and colour alter the perception of spaces – and thus precisely those qualities that distinguish a good home from an exceptional one.
One of the defining voices of contemporary design
Sabine Marcelis (born 1985) runs her studio in the port of Rotterdam and graduated from the Design Academy Eindhoven in 2011. Her work lies at the intersection of design, art and architecture and encompasses furniture, lighting, mirrors and large-scale installations. A defining feature is her precise use of translucent materials such as resin and glass, whose luminosity she enhances through carefully directed lighting. The result is works of great visual impact and formal clarity. Marcelis views her designs as sensory experiences in which perception itself becomes a function.
The exhibition: a journey through light, colour and reflection
The exhibition unfolds as a spatial journey comprising both open and concentrated situations. On display are key early works such as “Tall Stripe”, the “Candy Cubes” series and the installation “Sunbeam Capture”, created in collaboration with Boris Acket, complemented by lighting, furniture and mirrors.
Among the highlights are immersive installations: the light tunnel, created in collaboration with IKEA Switzerland and featuring lights from the joint VARMBLIXT collection, creates an impression of infinity through sophisticated reflections.
In the mirrored installation “Mathmos Lava Columns”, developed specifically for the exhibition, XL lava lamps extend from floor to ceiling, visually blurring the boundaries of the space through light and movement. Insights into material studies and experiments demonstrate how the studio works playfully with light, materials and colour.
The designer emphasises that the exhibition is not intended to be an archive of past projects, but rather to show how she and her team work.
Why this exhibition is worth a visit for those interested in exclusive residential property
Anyone buying or selling an exclusive property often judges it on the basis of location, floor area and fittings. Sabine Marcelis’s work draws attention to something that cannot be measured in any property brochure: the atmosphere of a room. In her work, colour does not appear merely as a surface, but interacts with the space and alters how it is perceived; transparency, reflection and light become central elements of the spatial experience. This is of direct relevance to living in the upmarket segment. How does light fall into a house throughout the day? What role do reflections, materials and colour tones play in the sense of space? How can a room be transformed with just a few, precisely placed elements?
Marcelis also demonstrates that minimalism does not mean sacrifice. Her design language deliberately highlights the characteristics of the materials rather than obscuring them. For buyers, this can serve as a benchmark for assessing the quality of a property: is the choice of materials convincing, does the lighting work, and is the design harmonious? For sellers, in turn, it offers inspiration to consider their own spaces with a focus on light and atmosphere, as it is precisely these qualities that linger in the memory during a viewing.
A home for international design
With “Light and Colour”, the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich reinforces its position as an international platform for contemporary trends in design. Previously, it dedicated comprehensive solo exhibitions to Jasper Morrison (2016), Formafantasma (2022) and Tatiana Bilbao (2024).
To accompany the current exhibition, the publication ‘Making a Show, Sabine Marcelis’ has been released, published by Apartamento Publishing in collaboration with the museum.
Practical information:
The exhibition “Sabine Marcelis – Light and Colour” at the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich, Toni-Areal, Pfingstweidstrasse 96, 8005 Zurich, runs until 4 April 2027.
Opening hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday 10 am–5 pm; Thursday 10 am–8 pm; closed on Mondays. Special opening hours apply on public holidays; these can be viewed on the museum’s website.
Admission: standard CHF 15, concessions CHF 10; combined ticket for all venues CHF 20 or CHF 15. Admission is free every Thursday from 5 pm, and for those under 20.
A public guided tour of the exhibition will take place on Sunday, 15 November 2026 from 11 am to 12 noon.
Contact and information: +41 43 446 67 67, welcome@museum-gestaltung.ch, museum-gestaltung.ch. The venue is wheelchair accessible.
Sources: Press release from the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich, “Sabine Marcelis – Light and Colour”; museum-gestaltung.ch; MySwitzerland, “Museum für Gestaltung Zürich, Toni-Areal”; museums.ch.