Discreet but Striking Lighting for Museum Exhibits

By Editorial Staff - 5 June 2024
Artemide has participated in the project

When designing the route through a museum, one has to look beyond simply the artworks on display, despite their obvious centrality. How they are arranged and the lighting used are fundamental aspects in shaping the experience. In two compelling demonstrations of this, Artemide showcased how the power of light can influence a viewer’s journey through an exhibition, facilitating a nuanced appreciation of each element.

First, through the combined use of A.24 and Turn Around products for the exhibition Thoth’s Gift: Reading Ancient Egypt at the Egyptian Museum in Turin – now part of its permanent collection – Artemide enhanced the textual narratives and characters depicted on each papyrus, while perfectly illuminating the exceptional pieces on display. Curated by Paolo Marini, Federico Poole and Susanne Töpfer, and the result of a scientific project by Christian Greco, the installation was an opportunity for Artemide to demonstrate the versatility of Turn Around. The combination of high luminous efficacy, geometric flexibility and the small size of the track and lighting elements allowed the luminaire to be installed directly inside the display cases, where it blends in discreetly, while the light beam provides diffused or focused lighting as required. Turn Around’s range of linear, angular and curved modules offer unparalleled versatility, with seemingly unlimited combinations, including the option for them to be suspended from the ceiling. These modules ensure electrical and mechanical continuity for the system, which in turn gives designers the freedom to create dynamic and evolving forms.

Il dono di Thot: leggere l’antico Egitto, Museo Egizio, Torino © Michele Nastasi, courtesy Artemide

In the second demonstration, various solutions were used for the exhibition at the Poldi Pezzoli Museum in Milan entitled Piero della Francesca. The Augustinian Polyptych reunited, curated by the recently deceased Italo Rota and CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati. Artemide’s involvement included it being a technical sponsor. To evenly and diffusely illuminate the various panels of the work, 16 Discovery Space Spots were placed side-by-side and, thanks to Tunable White technology, this ensured the perfect color temperature of natural light to be reproduced. Vector spots, designed by Carlotta de Bevilacqua and integrated into the Discovery Space Spots, also provide accent lighting for the works, really bringing out the best in them. The Discovery panel is made up of an extremely lightweight aluminum profile that houses a LED strip that injects light into a transparent PMMA surface with a pattern of micro-incisions arranged to achieve maximum efficiency and uniformity of the light beam. This patented technology makes it possible to create a product that seems almost absent and dematerialized when switched off, providing a discreet yet scenic presence that can easily be adapted to other environments, such as offices.