Not Vital's Tuor per Susch Tower Installation at Muzeum Susch

Swiss artist Not Vital (b. 1948, Scuol) has unveiled 'Tuor per Susch' (Tower for Susch), a permanent outdoor site-specific installation commissioned by Muzeum Susch in Switzerland. The ten-meter-high marble sculpture stands on a meadow adjacent to the main museum building, becoming the fourth tower in the village of Susch alongside the historic Tuor La Praschun (12th-13th century), Tuor Planta, and the Romanesque church tower. Carved from a single block of marble over two years by Gabriele and Umberto Togni of the Pietrasanta quarries, the work features meticulously hollowed and polished surfaces that highlight craftsmanship and distill the concept of a tower to its essence. Grażyna Kulczyk, Polish entrepreneur and founder of the museum (opened January 2019 in a former monastery), expressed enthusiasm for the piece by an artist deeply connected to the Engadin region. Not Vital first encountered marble in the Pietrasanta quarries in the 1980s, and it has since become a constant material in his practice alongside bronze, plaster, and stainless steel, often blending painting, architecture, and sculpture. He categorizes 'Tuor per Susch' under 'SCARCH,' a portmanteau of 'sculpture' and 'architecture.' His work consistently engages with surrounding space, leading him to create in diverse contexts including Niger (Makaranta, 2003), Chile (Notona, 2008-14), the Philippines (The Chapel, 2016), and Indonesia (House to Watch the 3 Volcanoes, 2017).