Surrealism Switzerland

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Museo d’arte della Svizzera italiana Surrealism Switzerland Lugano +41(0)91 815 7971 10 February – 16 June 2019 [email protected] www.masilugano.ch Museo d’arte della Svizzera italiana, Lugano, at LAC Lugano Arte e Cultura

Curated by Peter Fischer, art historian and independent curator and Julia Schallberger, assistant curator at Aargauer Kunsthaus

Coordination and staging at MASI Lugano by Tobia Bezzola, director and Francesca Benini, assistant curator

Press conference: Friday 8 February at 11:00 am Opening: Saturday 9 February at 6:00 pm

Press release Lugano, Friday 8 February 2019 From 10 February to 16 June 2019, the Museo d’arte della Svizzera italiana presents a great retrospective regarding Swiss Surrealism, organised in cooperation with the Aargauer Kunsthaus. The exhibition, titled Surrealism Switzerland , investigates both the influence the movement had on Swiss art and the contribution of Swiss artists in defining it. These artists include Hans Arp, Alberto Giacometti, Paul Klee and Meret Oppenheim. Starting from the question “Does Swiss Surrealism actually exist?” the Museo d’arte della Svizzera italiana (MASI) and the Aargauer Kunsthaus thoroughly examine the issue of Surrealism in Switzerland, which is an important part of the art history of this Country. The two museums present a new great retrospective in two different settings. The first, in Aarau from 1 September 2018 to 2 January 2019, focused not only on historical Surrealism, but also on its influence on contemporary art. The second one, setting at MASI from 10 February to 16 June 2019, deals exclusively with the historical expressions of Surrealism until the end of the 1950s, and is curated by museum director Tobia Bezzola in cooperation with Francesca Bernini, assistant curator at MASI. The exhibition at MASI comprises a hundred of artworks and starts with a general overview of the context and development of the surrealist movement through a wide and significant selection of documents and drawings. On display are the most important exponents of Swiss Surrealism, including the two fundamental forerunners of the movement, Hans Arp and Paul Klee , and all main Swiss artists who influenced Surrealism, both as actual members of the Parisian movement – Alberto Giacometti , Serge Brignoni , Gérard Vulliamy , Kurt Seligmann and Meret Oppenheim – and as representatives of the new art in Switzerland, such as Otto Abt, Max von Moos , Walter Johannes Moeschlin, Werner Schaad , Otto Tschumi, and Walter Kurt Wiemken . It was the tight connection between Swiss artists in Paris and those at home that favoured the spread and development of surrealist ideas in Switzerland as well, promoting also the creation of progressive groups such as Gruppe 33 , whose members included, among others, Otto Abt, Walter Bodmer, Walter Kurt Wiemken and Meret Oppenheim; or Allianz. Vereinigung moderner Schweizer Künstler (1937), joined by Ernst Maass, Leo Leuppi and Hans Erni.

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Surrealism first developed in Paris in the mid-1920s, particularly thanks to André Breton, and had an interesting independent evolution in Switzerland. In the period between the two World Wars, characterised by a political and social conservative context everywhere in Europe, the movement became a sort of shelter for progressive artists. Unlike the other movements of the 20th century, such as Cubism or Expressionism, what characterises Surrealism is not a set of formal and stylistic features, but rather an attitude an approach to life and art that is common to all its members. In the rational context of the years between the two World Wars, surrealists investigated the individual’s inner universe, the subconsciousand fate, focusing on issues such as dreams, anguishes, fantasies, obsessions, sexuality, and giving life to innovative forms and creations. Surrealism Switzerland has been organised thanks to the cooperation of the main Swiss museums, including the Kunsthaus Zürich, the Zentrum Paul Klee, the Kunstmuseum Basel, the Kunstmuseum Bern and many others, and with the support of important private collectors from both Switzerland and abroad.

Artists in the exhibition Otto Hans Abt (1903–1982)/ Hans Arp (1886–1966)/ Karl Ballmer (1891–1958)/ Walter Bodmer (1903–1973)/ Serge Brignoni (1903–2002)/ Hans Erni (1909–2015)/ Alberto Giacometti (1901–1966)/ Henriette Grindat (1923–1986)/ Paul Klee (1879–1940)/ Le Corbusier (1887–1965)/ Leo Leuppi (1893–1972)/ Ernst Maass (1904–1971)/ Walter Johann Moeschlin (1902–1961)/ Max von Moos (1903–1979)/ Meret Elisabeth Oppenheim (1913–1985)/ (Erich Wassmer) Ricco (1915–1972)/ Werner Schaad, (1905–1979)/ Hans Rudolf Schiess (1904– 1978)/ Sonja Sekula (1918–1963)/ Kurt Seligmann (1900–1962)/ Anita Spinelli (1908–2010)/ André Thomkins (1930–1985)/ Otto Tschumi (1904–1985)/ Jean-Pierre Viollier (1896–1985)/ Gérard Vulliamy (1909–2005)/ Walter Kurt Wiemken (1907–1941).

The catalogue The exhibition project is accompanied by a richly illustrated publication which, besides serving as a catalogue, rightfully claims to be the Swiss Surrealism Manual par excellence . The book, published both in Italian and German by Snoeck, includes important contributions by art historians Peter Fischer, Stephan E. Hauser, Julia Schallberger and Hans-Peter Wittwer, and also contains the biographies of all artists included in the exhibition.

Educational activities In addition to the usual free guided tours taking place every Sunday at 11:00 am, several cultural activities are scheduled throughout the duration of the exhibition in order to involve the audience and turning the visit to the exhibition into an enriching and emotional experience. The programme is available on the website www.edu.luganolac.ch.

Exhibition programme In 2019, the MASI will work on important projects in collaboration with Swiss and international Museums and artists. In addition to Surrealism Switzerland , the Museum, in cooperation with the National Museum of Zürich, will present an exhibition dedicated to the masterpieces of the Gottfried Keller Foundation, which is the great national collection managed by the Federal Office of Culture (from 24 March to 28 July 2019). After the exhibition, from 25 August to 10 November 2019, the Museum will present Sublime , a project revolving around the exceptional presence of La Natura, La Vita, La Morte (Nature, Life, Death), the renowned triptyque by Giovanni Segantini, and its connections with a selection of works from the MASI collection. The Museum will also host Swiss artists Franz Gertsch, with a projects curated by himself (from 12 May to 22 September 2019), and Julian Charrierè, with his interdisciplinary project Towards No Earthly Pole (from 8 September 2019 to 05 January 2020); and the American photographer William Wegman, with his first European stage of his latest project Being Human (from 8 September 2019 to 5 January 2020).

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MASI Lugano The Museo d’arte della Svizzera italiana, Lugano represents the point of arrival of an in-depth revision of the cultural policies that led to the merger between the Museo Cantonale d’Arte and the Museo d’Arte di Lugano as a single institution. The museum has two locations: on view at LAC are exhibits aimed at delving deeper into twentieth-century and contemporary art as well as the museum's permanent collection, while Palazzo Reali (temporarily closed for refurbishment) focuses on the history of art in the territory, and the valorization of specific groups in the museum collection. A main partner of MASI Lugano is Credit Suisse, which confirms its historical commitment in favour of art in Lugano.

Current Exhibition Vera Traschsel Prix Manor Ticino 2018 LAC, until 17.02.2019

Forthcoming Exhibitions Hodler – Segantini – Giacometti Capolavori della Fondazione Gottfried Keller LAC, from 24.03 to 28.07.2019 A Collection in Progress Collezione Giancarlo e Danna Olgiati, from 31.03 to 16.06.2019 Gertsch – Gauguin – Munch Cut in Wood LAC, from 12.05 to 22.09.2019 Sublime Luce e paesaggio intorno a Giovanni Segantini LAC, from 25.08 to 10.11.2019 William Wegman: Being Human LAC, from 08.09.2019 to 05.01.2020 Marisa Merz Collezione Giancarlo e Danna Olgiati, from 22.09.2019 to 12.01.2020 Julian Charrière Towards No Earthly Pole LAC, from 27.10.2019 to 14.03.2020

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Information Venue LAC Lugano Arte e Cultura Piazza Bernardino Luini 6, 6901 Lugano

Opening hours Tuesday - Sunday: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Thursdays open until 8 p.m. Closed Mondays

Admission Full: Chf 20.- Reduced: Chf 14.- Free admission: the first Thursday of the month (5 p.m. – 8 p.m.) The list of discount is available on www.masilugano.ch

Buy tickets www.masilugano.ch www.luganolac.ch

Contacts Visitor Services +41 (0)58 866 42 40 [email protected] Guided tours and workshops +41 (0)58 866 4230 [email protected]

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Main Partner MASI Lugano

Founders

Institutional Partner

Supported by

Press contacts LAC Lugano Arte e Cultura Ufficio comunicazione +41 (0)58 866 4214 [email protected]

French and German-speaking parts of Switzerland and other Countries Neutral Zürich Michelle Nicol +41 79 642 0207 [email protected]

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Captions

01. Serge Brignoni Germinations 1937 oil on canvas 115 x 92 cm Kunsthaus Zürich Photo: Kunsthaus Zürich

03. Alberto Giacometti Fleur en danger 1932 wood, plaster, wire and string 24 x 43 x 13.5 cm Alberto Giacometti Foundation, Kunsthaus Zürich © Succession Alberto Giacometti / 2019, ProLitteris, Zurich

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04. Alberto Giacometti Homme (Apollon) 1929 bronze 40 x 30.5 x 8.5 cm Kunstmuseum Basel. Permanent loan of the Alberto Giacometti Foundation Photo: Kunstmuseum Basel (Martin P. Bühler) © Succession Alberto Giacometti / 2019, ProLitteris, Zurich

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08. Werner Schaad Metamorphose im Raum 1930 oil on canvas 116 x 147 cm Museum zu Allerheiligen. Permanent loan of the Kunstverein, Schaffhausen Photo: Museum zu Allerheiligen. Depositum Kunstverein, Schaffhausen

09. Kurt Seligmann La deuxième main de Nosferatu 1938 oil on panel 85.5 x 125 cm Aargauer Kunsthaus, Aarau. Permanent loan of the Gottfried Keller Foundation, Federal Office of Culture,

10. Kurt Seligmann Hommage à Urs Graf 1934 oil on wooden panel 160.2 x 129.4 cm Kunstmuseum Bern. Donation Arlette Seligmann, Sugar Loaf © Orange County Citizens Foundation / 2019, ProLitteris, Zürich

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11. Otto Tschumi Physiognomische Landschaft 1938 oil on paper on cardboard 39 x 46 cm Donation Otto Tschumi, Bern ART Nachlassstiftung / Courtesy Galerie Bernhard Bischoff & Partner Photo: Dominique Uldry

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16. Walter Kurt Wiemken Das Leben 1935 oil on canvas 180.5 x 125 cm Kunstmuseum Basel, purchased with funding from the Schiess Fund, 1941 Photo: Kunstmuseum Basel (Martin P. Bühler)

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