Words and photos Michael Mastarciyan
High above the clouds, perched on a steep mountainside overlooking one of Switzerland’s most glamorous ski resorts, a solitary bearded vulture casts a steely gaze over his vast alpine dominion below. This is no average bird of prey, however; this vibrant giant of Godzillian proportions is the latest masterwork of Sonny Sundancer, one of the urban art world’s most brilliant rising stars. Sundancer’s mural, titled Resurgence, sits on the front wall of a ski lift 1,600 m above Crans-Montana. It is just one of the newest works of art created during Vision Art Festival (VAF), one of the world’s most innovative, and visually stunning outdoor art exhibitions.
Held in Crans-Montana, Switzerland every summer since 2015, VAF bills itself as ‘an immersive experience that balances nature and contemporary art in the Swiss Alps set against breathtaking views of the Rhone Valley, offering a unique way to enjoy over 150 curated contemporary art installations’. This is a very accurate description given that these gorgeous manmade works of art sit directly across nature’s magnificent creations – namely, some of Europe’s highest and most iconic peaks, which include the Matterhorn and Mont Blanc sitting on the distant horizon.
The brainchild of Swiss art curator, ski guide and all-round rugged mountaineer, Greg Pages – described by some as the ‘Theo van Gogh of the Swiss Alps’, VAF has been a launching board that has helped catapult a whole slew of virtually unknown painters into the stratosphere of success in the world of modern art.
‘I wanted to create a space where art and nature could blend in harmony, and I love urban art, so I came up with a crazy idea and invited a bunch of very talented street artists to come to Crans-Montana and express themselves on the blank spaces on the cable car stations, ski lift stations and car parks all over our mountain and town,’ Pages tells me.
This year, VAF celebrated its tenth anniversary. Since its inception, Pages and his band of merry mountain art lovers have collaborated with more than 100 artists, who have created more than 150 magnificent murals, some located at almost 2,800 m above sea level in the open air.
The theme of this year’s festival was An Ode to Nature and Sundancer’s multi-coloured, hyper-detailed, bearded vulture was a huge fan favourite. A master at blending realism and abstraction, this artist is well known for creating massive wildlife murals advocating for conservation efforts. He explains, ‘This piece honours the bearded vulture’s journey from near extinction to soaring once again in the skies of its ancestral home. Once driven to the brink of extinction by myths and human fear – fuelled by the belief that these birds could carry off livestock and children – these majestic creatures have made a remarkable comeback in the region through dedicated conservation efforts.’
This unbelievably beguiling mural of a striking bird of prey, sitting on the top of a mountain, in harmony with nature, is very moving, and a testament to the goals and aspirations of the VAF – but it’s not a standalone, as there are many other works of equal brilliance on display.
Another one of this year’s most outstanding pieces is a large-scale, ridiculously realistic blue and white porcelain tiger mural painted by Nut, a Chinese artist whose trademark style is mixing ancient qinghua techniques with modern graffiti art. The further away I stood from this piece, the more real the porcelain looked, almost like a photograph.
Simply put, the calibre of the artwork born out of this fabulous festival is exquisite. The artists showcasing their works at the VAF aren’t merely spray-painting tags on brick walls, this is high-end talent, creating high-altitude masterpieces, and I was even lucky enough to see some of the work happening in real time, right before my eyes.
During my visit, I crossed paths with a VAF legend named Antonyo Marest, one of Spain’s most well-known and successful ‘urban artists’ (he’s an architect and designer, too) who is known for his gigantic Technicolor murals, and product designs using repeated patterns (like flamingos and palm trees), abstract geometrism, and a huge dose of inner Southern Spanish sunshine from his upbringing in Alicante.
Marest, as he’s known in the art world, was in Crans-Montana completing a commission for a local petrol station, adding another colourful outdoor masterpiece to a town already rich in art. Quite foolishly, he caved when I begged him to let me participate in his latest masterpiece, and he let me spray some paint on the wall … that was until I went outside the lines!
- ‘Vision Art Festival in Crans-Montana’ is published in Anthology Volume 22. Read more features from this volume or buy it now.
- Browse more features in arts.
- If you enjoyed this feature, we’d love it if you would share it!