A Matter of Radiance

The Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation (ACDF) presents A Matter of Radiance, a newly-commissioned exhibition that premieres at the Uzbekistan National Pavilion in the Arsenale at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition-The Venice Biennale. Commissioned by Gayane Umerova, chairperson of the ACDF, and curated by GRACE studio of architecture, design and urbanism (Ekaterina Golovatyuk and Giacomo Cantoni), the pavilion looks to the scientific and cultural relevance of The Sun Institute of Material Science, built in 1987 near Tashkent. The pavilion explores the dual narratives of the site; its role in Uzbekistan's recent modernist architectural legacy, and its future potential as an international scientific hub, contributing to the country's broader commitment to a sustainable future.

One of the last major scientific projects of the USSR, The Sun Institute of Material Science-originally called the Sun Heliocomplex-is still one of only two large solar furnaces existing worldwide to study material behaviours at extreme temperatures. While the furnace only performed its original purpose for less than five years, the pavilion reflects on the rest of the site's nearly forty-year-long lifespan that has been dedicated to reinventing its broader meaning and scope. Rather than declaring the furnace's ambivalence a flaw, the pavilion and the catalogue explore its potential, its meanings and relevance for science, sustainability, and culture, asking what lessons it could provide for today.