Content
Thanks to private passion
We are overjoyed by a gift presented to us by the Walter Haefner Stiftung. In memory of the art patron who passed away in 2012 this foundation will finance a substantial part of the Kunsthaus expansion! In an excitedly awaited first viewing you can see for the very first time the mostly unknown collection of the entrepreneur and art patron from Zurich, Hubert Looser, who during decades of assiduous collecting brought together a very significant collection with a focus on American and European abstract and conceptual art. Last year we signed a contract for long-lasting cooperation, which opens new perspectives for the Kunsthaus. Approximately seventy major works, amongst which pieces by Willem de Kooning, Cy Twombly, Ellsworth Kelly, John Chamberlain, Lucio Fontana and Giuseppe Penone, will move into the expanded Kunsthaus. These works will interplay excellently with the existing collection whilst enriching and energizing it. For the first time in decades a collection of modern art joins the Kunsthaus where it will simultaneously test new ways of interaction. Over the past one hundred years, our institution has repeatedly collaborated with foundations and private collections to the benefit of the institution and the public, and we are pleased to have found a partner in Hubert Looser who is eager to tread new waters with us.
Apparently quite different, at first glance, is the exhibition of works by Félix Valloton, which we proudly put on display in the elegant spaces of the historic Moser Building. This project also stems from a long-lasting friendly connection with a collector. We have noticed that our stately stock of oeuvres by Valloton enters into perfect dialogue with the nearly as grand holdings of the private collection, closing existing gaps whilst revealing new groupings and casting a glance to the future.
Don’t miss your chance of entering Wagner’s wondrous theater world, which lifts its curtains to us during the Festspiele Zürich festival and explains through an entertaining course of colorful stage design mock-ups, models and historic photographs, why Zürich is a Wagnerian city after all….!
As you have heard, there will be two changes to our team of curators: our scouting commission has held numerous interviews over the past few months and in February selected Cathérine Hug and Oliver Wick to be the new members.
After our Open House of last year we received such positive feedback from you, that from now on every year we will offer special programs to our visitors on that special day. We are looking forward to our next Open House – scheduled for June 1st!
Yours, Christoph Becker
