A memorable experience: "the golden room"
News Arnulf Hinkel, financial journalist – 06.04.2018
Most people will agree that gold is a symbol of value and can have a calming effect on people – at least when added to an investor's portfolio. With her current project "goldraum" (German for "golden room"), Frankfurt-based artist Hildegard Stephan however impressively proves that gold can hold other meanings and has much more to offer.
A room of silence and light
"Gold stands for light, warmth, heaven, transcendence, value, infinity, and God. Gold radiates energy, releases light and power which flows towards you", said Hildegard Stephan, when describing her relationship with the precious metal. To her, gold is "full of value beyond the obvious", as she puts it and thus assigns a completely different meaning to gold than an investor would. In her search of a place of silence and retreat from the stimulus-flooded outside as well as the inner world, the artist found that gold was the ideal material. She is convinced that, more than any other substance, gold invites the soul to come to rest and enjoy the silence.
Three by 3.5 meters in 23 carat gold
Hildegard Stephan created a cube which inside is completely covered in 23 carat gold leaf. The only seat, again a cube, is also gold-plated. The golden surfaces, deliberately unpolished, are illuminated with a soft light, giving the room a mystical atmosphere. The "goldraum" will be situated in the cedar garden of the monastery Kloster Eberbach until early May 2018 and will then be on display at another site in Frankfurt, to be not only seen but experienced: every visitor is invited to use the room to feel the peace and power of the golden space. The room is deliberately kept completely neutral with regard to different worldviews, cultural and religious origins and convictions in order to offer the "goldraum" experience to as many people as possible.
