A tour of Switzerland in museums
About the ten major museums in Switzerland that make up the Art Museums of Switzerland association.
How about a little tour of Swiss museums this summer? The June issue of Connaissance des arts magazine has just what you need! In choosing the ten nationwide museums brought together by AMOS (Art Museums of Switzerland), the association set up in 2015 on the initiative of Sam Keller, Director of the Fondation Beyeler in Riehen, near Basel, journalist Guillaume Morel was not risking going off the beaten track, but we won't be complaining about discovering or rediscovering major institutions in the fields of ancient art, modern art or contemporary art, photography and design. As you will have gathered, there are no works of art for sale here (we're not touring art galleries), but there are plenty of things to marvel at and hone your knowledge of art history... while at the same time sniffing out the major trends on the art market. All in all, a source of inspiration for artists in their creative work, and for collectors in their art purchases.
So let's start with Bern, with its Paul Klee Museum, or Zentrum Paul Klee (ZPK), dedicated as its name suggests to the Swiss artist. Opened in 2005, it is one of the country's largest museums devoted to a single artist. The building itself is a remarkable work of architecture designed by Renzo Piano. Set on a green hillside with panoramic views over the city of Bern, its architecture harmoniously combines natural light, modern materials and open spaces, creating an environment conducive to the appreciation of Klee's art. An exceptional art gallery! It houses an impressive collection of over 4,000 works by Paul Klee (1879-1940), covering all the periods of his artistic career. Klee was a prolific and versatile artist, known for his paintings, drawings, watercolours and engravings.
The semi-permanent tour of the ZPK (the display is regularly renewed to preserve the graphic works) is organised in such a way as to highlight Klee's artistic development, presenting his works in a historical and thematic context. On each visit, visitors can discover his early influences, such as Expressionism and Cubism, as well as his later explorations of Abstraction and Surrealism. In addition to Klee's works, the museum also organises temporary exhibitions highlighting other artists and artistic movements linked to Klee's work, broadening the understanding of modern and contemporary art, and offering a wider perspective on Klee's influence on other artists.
The ZPK in Bern does not want to be just an art gallery. It has also established itself as an interdisciplinary living space, offering not only works of art but also educational and cultural activities such as workshops, lectures and concerts, enabling visitors to engage more fully with Klee's art and creativity. On 20 August, for example, you can attend a concert by Sandro Roy.
The Fotozentrum is made up of the Fotomuseum Winterthur, which aims to showcase the very best in historical and contemporary photography, and the Fotostiftung Schweiz (Swiss Foundation for Photography). The works of art on display include 300,000 prints of images by Walter Bosshard, Marianne Breslauer, Nicolas Faure, René Groebli, Herbert Matter, Hans Staub, Monique Jacot... as well as a million negatives and slides, tracing the history of the photographic medium since the 19th century.
In Basel, of course, there is plenty to choose from. A visit to the Musée Jean Tinguely is a must, as it houses the world's largest collection of "machine sculptures" by the Swiss artist, sculptor, painter and draughtsman, who was born in Fribourg in 1925 and died in Berne in 1991. He was a long-time companion of Niki de Saint Phalle (1930-2002). You should also visit the Kunstmuseum Basel, which offers an encyclopaedic view of art from the 15th century to the present day, with works by Holbein, Van Gogh, Vallotton, Hodler, Picasso, Judd and others. Finally, there's the sublime Fondation Beyeler, created just outside Basel in Riehen by gallery owners and collectors Ernst and Hildy Beyeler, which houses 400 works of post-impressionist, modern and contemporary art (Monet, Picasso, Rousseau, Calder, Cézanne, Bourgois, Baselitz, Bonnard, Dumas... ), as well as ethnographic pieces from Africa, Oceania and Alaska... The Fondation Beyeler, in its divine park, and with its constant flow of temporary exhibitions, is the busiest museum in Switzerland!
In Geneva, head for the Mamco. Or the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, located in the district of trendy art galleries and contemporary art. It houses 4,000 works from the 1960s to the present day: Daniel Buren, Karl Andre, Joseph Kosuth, François Morellet, Lawrence Weiner, Felice Varini, Claude Rutault... Switzerland's youngest and largest museum of modern and contemporary art, housed in a former industrial building since 1994, Mamco has the unique distinction of having been created without a collection, on the initiative of enthusiasts who campaigned for its creation as early as the 1970s!
Inaugurated in Lugano in 2015, the MASI (Museo d'Arte della Swizzera italiana) is spread over two exceptional venues: the LAC (Lugano Arte et Cultura) centre, a space dedicated to contemporary art that also hosts shows, performances and multidisciplinary artistic events, and the Palazzo Reali, a renovated historic building that mainly houses exhibitions of modern art. The result of the merger of two museums, it has become one of Switzerland's most popular institutions, thanks to its rich collections of works by Swiss and international artists from the nineteenth century to the present day. The collection includes works by artists such as Cuno Amiet, Jean Arp, Alberto Giacometti, Umberto Boccioni, Carlo Carra, Alighiero Boetti, Peter Doig, Urs Fischer and Sol Le Witt.
In Zurich, you'll have to push open the door of the Kunsthaus Zurich, which has had a new wing designed by David Chipperfield since 2021. The institution presents major works by Giacometti and Munch, as well as Impressionists. No fewer than 4,500 works by Chagall, Beckmann, Kokoschka, Picasso, Warhol and Baselitz are added to a graphic art collection of 95,000 sheets. In Zurich, design, decorative arts, graphic arts and posters also have their own realm thanks to the Museum für Gestaltung, spread over three sites.
Finally, a visit to Lausanne is a must if you want to discover Plateforme 10, the museum complex due to open in 2022, which will also bring together Photo Elysée (formerly the Musée de l'Elysée, celebrating images in all their forms), the Musée cantonnal des beaux-arts (MCBA) and the Musée cantonal de design et d'arts appliqués contemporains (mudac).