Scheidegger & Spiess International New Titles Spring 2023

Scheidegger & Spiess

Art I Photography I Architecture

International New Titles

Spring 2023

Content

3

Taking Measures

4–5

Wolfgang Beltracchi

6–7

Werner Bischof

8–9

In the Summer of 2009

10–11

HR Giger

12–13

Yao Jui-chung

14–15

Marguerite Saegesser

16–17

Le tremblement des

certitudes

18–19

Urban Change Over Time

20–21

Maillol—A Different View

22–23

Rochus Lussi—Thin Skin

30–31

Key Titles

24–25

Theo Gerber

26–27

Léopold et Aurèle Robert

28–29

Hedi Mertens

32

Contacts

Distributors

Representatives and Agents

Edited by Fabienne Liptay in

collaboration with Carla Gabrí

and Laura Walde

Book design by Studio Marie Lusa

und Alberto Malossi

In cooperation with Migros Museum

für Gegenwartskunst, Zurich, and

the Department of Film Studies,

University of Zurich

Hardback

approx. 320 pages, 160 color

and 20 b/w illustrations

17 × 23 cm

978-3-85881-888-1 English

A reader on film and video as

measuring devices to test the

effectiveness of art in public space

Essays by renowned scholars and

researchers explore a wide range

of questions about political

possibilities and means of artistic

practice

Richly illustrated, the book addresses

issues of measures and formats

in both content and design

sFr. 49.00 | € 48.00 | £ 45.00 | $ 50.00

APRIL 2023 (Europe)

JULY ISBN 9783858818881 2023 (US)

9 783858 818881

Taking Measures

Usages of Formats in Film and Video Art

Film and video as

devices to test

art’s effectiveness

in public space

The book’s title—Taking Measures—has a double meaning: as a reference to the practices

of measurement and to the political potential of power and resistance. Throughout

their history to today, film and video have served as measuring devices for scientific,

economic, political, and other purposes, and have been employed in a variety of

fields beyond art. In acknowledging these uses also lies the opportunity for art to test

its own effectiveness in public space and to uncover potential for resistance in artistic

action.

This book—which has evolved from a series of dialogues between artists and researchers

as part of the research project Exhibiting Film: Challenges of Format at the University

of Zurich—addresses issues of measures and formats in both content and design.

In which practices of measurement, of the production of knowledge and evidence

in the interest of useful research, are film and video involved? In what way can artistic

practice not only make these involvements visible but challenge and test them? How

can technologies of measurement in art be used politically and be made operative for

the public sector? How can formats themselves, as the measures of art, be exhibited?

How can they be put in relation to exhibition spaces and their economies of valorization,

and how can this relationship be assessed? These questions are explored in illuminating

and richly illustrated essays.

Fabienne Liptay is a professor of film studies at the University of Zurich,

where she directed the research project Exhibiting Film: Challenges of

Format.

Carla Gabrí and Laura Walde were members of the research project

Exhibiting Film: Challenges of Format as PhD students at the Department

of Film Studies, University of Zurich.


Spring 2023 3

164 —— 165

78 —— 79

WOLFGANG BELTRACCHI SALVATOR MUNDI


New works by painter

and former art forger

Wolfgang Beltracchi

alongside texts by

distinguished authors

With texts by

Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht

literary theorist, writer, and Stanford University

professor emeritus

Peter Sloterdijk

German philosopher and cultural theorist

Markus Gabriel

German philosopher and author

Ulrike Posche

German journalist and writer

Alberto Venzago

Swiss photographer

Leonhard Fischer

German finance executive

Hansen Wang

Swiss-based crypto currency and NFT expert

Guido Persterer

Swiss art dealer

René Scheu

Swiss writer and philosopher

14 —— 15


Also available:

6 —— 7


Jeannette Fischer

Psychoanalyst meets Helene and

Wolfgang Beltracchi

Artist Couple Meets Jeannette Fischer

978-3-03942-071-1 English

978-3-03942-070-4 German

sFr. 25.00 | € 19.00 | £ 20.00 | $ 25.00

ISBN 978-3-03942-071-1

English

9 783039 420711

ISBN 978-3-03942-070-4

German

9 783039 420704

Edited by Alberto Venzago

Book design by dear robinson

Hardback



24 × 32 cm

978-3-03942-142-8 English

978-3-03942-138-1 German

sFr. 49.00 | € 48.00 | £ 42.00 | $ 50.00

MAY 2023 (Europe)

SEPTEMBER 2023 (US)

ISBN 9783039421428

English

ISBN 9783039421381

German

New, large-format book on the

latest work of Wolfgang Beltracchi,

painter and legendary art forger

Features previously unpublished

photographs from Beltracchi’s

studio by internationally renowned

Swiss photographer Alberto

Venzago

Documents Beltracchi’s extensive

collection The Greats, parts of

which are traded as digital nonfungible

tokens (NFT)

With new original contributions by

distinguished authors such as Hans

Ulrich Gumbrecht, Peter Sloterdijk,

Markus Gabriel, and others

9 783039 421428

9 783039 421381

Wolfgang Beltracchi

The Return of Salvator Mundi

In recent years, painter and legendary art forger Wolfgang Beltracchi has opened a

new chapter of his career. The core of his latest work is an extensive series of paintings,

titled The Greats, that have been put on sale as digital artworks using NFT

technology. Its starting point was the Salvator Mundi, a painting attributed to Leonardo

da Vinci and sold in 2017 in an auction at Christie’s in New York for $450 m to

an unknown buyer. Beltracchi studied the picture meticulously and created several

hundred versions of the motif in a variety of styles, ranging from high renaissance to

pop art, or depicting Jesus in the personification of Mick Jagger or Mao Zedong. The

result is a fascinating game of deception with the disputed painting and its symbolism.

This large-format book combines photographic insights into Beltracchi’s everyday life

in the studio by renowned Swiss photographer Alberto Venzago with a documentation

of The Greats collection. Texts are contributed by Stanford University professor

emeritus Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht, German philosophers Peter Sloterdijk and Markus

Gabriel, German journalist Ulrike Posche, German finance executive Leonhard Fischer,

Swiss-based cryptocurrency and NFT expert Hansen Wang, Swiss art dealer Guido

Persterer, and Alberto Venzago. A conversation between Beltracchi and Swiss writer

and philosopher René Scheu rounds out this volume that describes and interprets the

phenomenon of this extraordinary artist from a range of perspectives.

Alberto Venzago is a Swiss photographer, photojournalist, and filmmaker.

He has been awarded numerous international prizes, such as the ICP

Award, the United Nations Award, the New York Film Festival Award,

the Spotlight Award, and others.


Spring 2023 5

4

4

5

5

3

The early work of Swiss

Magnum photographer Werner

Bischof: fashion photography

and reportage in color

Edited by Ludovica Introini and

Francesca Bernasconi

Book design by Granit

Communication, Design

In cooperation with MASI Lugano

and Fotostiftung Schweiz, Winterthur

Hardback


illustrations

21 × 24 cm

978-3-03942-130-5 English

978-3-03942-129-9 German

sFr. 49.00 | € 48.00 | £ 42.00 | $ 50.00

Features for the first time ever some

100 previously unpublished early

color images by distinguished

Swiss Magnum photographer,

Werner Bischof (1916–54)

Offers insights into the elaborate

technology and use of the Devin

Tricolor color-separation camera

Exhibition: Werner Bischof—Unseen

Colour at MASI Lugano (February

12 to May 29, 2023) and at

Fotostiftung Schweiz, Winterthur

(August 26, 2023 to January 21,

2024)

MARCH 2023 (Europe)

JULY 2023 (US)

Italian edition is published by Edizioni

Casagrande, Bellinzona, Switzerland

ISBN 9783039421305

ISBN 9783039421299

English

German

9 783039 421305

9 783039 421299

Werner Bischof

Unseen Colour

Swiss photographer Werner Bischof (1916–54) is best known for his impressive blackand-white

images, most of which were taken on expeditions as a reporter in postwar

Europe and during the Indochina War (1946–54), and on his travels in the Far East

and South America. Far too little known are Bischof’s early color photographs, comprising

studio work in fashion and advertising photography as well as reportage from

war-damaged European cities. For these, Bischof used various types of camera, including

a Devin Tricolor. This elaborate color-separation device exposed three monochrome

plates in a single exposure, each of them equipped with a color filter so that a

true color print was subsequently made by addition of the three monochrome negatives.

Some 200 of Bischof’s Devin Tricolor negatives have been restored and a selection

of them is published for the first time ever in this book.

The beautifully illustrated volume is fascinating not only from a photo-historical perspective.

Even these early color images reveal Bischof’s outstanding, sensitive aesthetic

that characterizes his entire oeuvre. Some 100 color plates are supplemented with

texts by Clara Bouveresse, the French photography historian, Peter Pfrunder, the director

of the Fotostiftung Schweiz in Winterthur, and Luc Debraine, the director of

the Swiss Camera Museum in Vevey.

Ludovica Introini is an art historian working at MASI Lugano’s

exhibition office.

Francesca Bernasconi is an art historian and head of MASI Lugano’s

exhibition office.


Spring 2023 7

The entertaining

album of a journey

with design objects

by Italian architect

and designer

Matteo Thun

92

48 49

22

130 131

Edited by Susanne Thun

Book design by Studio Marie Lusa

Hardback


illustrations

20.5 × 28 cm

978-3-03942-137-4 English

sFr. 49.00 | € 48.00 | £ 42.00 | $ 50.00


JULY ISBN 9783039421374 2023 (US)

An extraordinary and entertaining

visual travelogue that celebrates

some fifty design objects and

interiors by distinguished Italian

designer and architect Matteo

Thun

Tells the story of a joyful encounter

of two then teenage boys with the

oeuvre of their famous father

Features a previously unpublished

series by celebrated Swiss

photographer Walter Pfeiffer

9 783039 421374

Walter Pfeiffer, Matteo Thun

In the Summer of 2009

Photographs by Walter Pfeiffer, Design by Matteo Thun

A humorous tribute to Matteo Thun, one of Italy’s most distinguished designers and

architects, and his work. In the summer of 2009, Swiss photographer Walter Pfeiffer

made an extensive trip from Zurich to the Italian island of Capri, taking shots of some

fifty of Thun’s design objects en route. Yet, rather than doing a mere documentation

of these items, Pfeiffer created highly lively “tableaux vivants.” The artist was accompanied

on his journey by Thun’s two then teenage sons, who thus form the main

visual narrative of the book and appear in many pictures together with their father’s

creations. A brief introduction by Matteo Thun’s wife Susanne and an index of the

depicted design gems round out this extraordinary and entertaining visual travelogue.

Walter Pfeiffer, born in 1946, is a Swiss graphic designer and photographer.

His work became known to a wider audience from the early 2000s

through contributions to international magazines such as i-D and Vogue.

Matteo Thun, born in 1952, cofounded the world-renowned Memphis

Group in 1981 and established his own studio in Milan in 1984. He has

been awarded numerous international prizes for his architectural and

product designs.


Spring 2023 9

HR GIGER

126

83

Li II, 1973–74

Acrylic and india ink on paper on wood, 200×140 cm

KATHLEEN BÜHLER

CARLOS ARENAS

28

HR GIGER

64

Cat. no. IV: Giovanni Battista Piranesi, The Drawbridge, from

Carceri d’invenzione, plate VII, 1741– 49, 1761– 65

Aquatint on paper, 56.1×41.5 cm

37

Blutuhr mit Wachskopf, 1967

Blood Clock with Wax Head

Polyester, metal, and red color, 80×32×32 cm

Cat. no. 33: HR Giger, Schacht VII (Shaft VII), 1966

India ink on transcop on wood, 63×80 cm

Francisco José de Goya, Aquelarre

(Witches’ Sabbath), 1797–98

Oil on wood, 43×30 cm

Museo Lázaro Galdiano, Madrid

42

Bettler, 1967

Beggar

Bronze, 58×58×75 cm

43

Kofferbaby, 1967

Suitcase Baby

Bronze, black paint, and gilt, 50×75×20 cm

HR Giger, Hexentanz (Witches’ Dance), 1977

Acrylic on oil paper on wood, 200×140 cm

Private collection

GIGER AND THE FANTASTIC IN ART

29

HR GIGER

65

Giger_024a037_e_Arenas gs 4-06-2007 18:32 Pagina 28

Giger_024a037_e_Arenas gs 4-06-2007 18:32 Pagina 29

fragments: stairways leading to infinity, impassable drawbridges, torture machines, and

dungeons. The Carceri provoke a feeling of claustrophobia and feature gloomy accoutrements

of the kind Giger used in his first pen-and-ink drawings, the Schächte (Shaft) pictures,

especially in Schacht VI and VII (cat. nos. 32, 33). Made up of delusions and nightmares

(sleepwalking, stairways, labyrinths), these pictures represent a journey through the

inner self, through underground hallways and corridors that open onto gloomy and unsettling

chambers and are sometimes inhabited by ghost-like beings. But Giger continues descending,

down to the organic bone architecture of hell, as we see in his Passagen-Tempel

(Passages Temples, cat. no. 85) series, where he populates intrauterine landscapes

(corresponding to his horror vision of birth) with dead and mutilated figures. This is primal

fear, prenatal terror, for birth represents one of the most traumatic of human experiences.

Giger delves deeper into the events that precede our arrival in the world and in the process

goes one step further than the surrealists, who tended to restrict themselves to childhood

experiences. 8 His depictions of fetuses, birth machines, and views of the inside of the

womb evoke a disturbing symbolism.

Francisco José de Goya

Giger’s interest in folk mythology and superstition (as well as magic, witchcraft, and occultism)

allows us to connect the satanic pictures among his work with another artist who

also showed great interest in this theme, namely, Francisco José de Goya (1746–1828).

Goya turned his attention to folk culture and reworked the medieval myths in his later paintings,

such as the Aquelarre (Witches’ Sabbath). In this representation of a gathering of

witches around the figure of the devil (personified as a he-goat) he amplified the shock effect

by deforming the faces. Giger revived and renewed this theme between 1975 and

1977, the highpoint of his airbrush phase. He used the airbrush in his own idiosyncratic

manner, spraying directly onto the paper, a kind of écriture automatique that allowed him—

analogously to the surrealist method—to realize his visions and ideas immediately and directly.

He developed this technique in the monochrome experiments of the Aleph (cat. no.

65) and other works through to its climax, the “satanic paintings” of large figures such as

Satan and Lilith, in which the demonic predominates. Giger’s satanic symbolism shows itself

to be strongly influenced by the esoteric writings of Eliphas Lévi, Gustav Meyrink, and

Giger_104a126_e_Bildteil gs 4-06-2007 18:20 Pagina 126

Giger_127a140_e_Bühler gs 4-06-2007 18:21 Pagina 127



PORTRAIT OF AN IMMORTAL LOVE: THE PAINTING LI II

When in 1973 Hansruedi Giger began painting the portrait of Li Tobler, his partner at the

time, he rather perplexingly portrayed her attractive face as a decapitated head. His picture,

which was created two years before her violent suicide, prophetically seems to anticipate

this later, tragic event. Despite these somber circumstances, the portrait is one of the

most frequently reproduced works from Giger’s oeuvre. The artist does not just break with

the conventions of traditional portrait painting that require a painted likeness to immortalize

the subject by depicting him or her as a living being. His depiction of Li Tobler also very

much represents the embodiment of his ideal woman. Nowhere else does he so expressly

preserve her as one of the undead for posterity, even though he counterbalances signs of

life with indications of death in her portrait. This unsettling connection between Eros and

Thanatos raises questions about the artistic and cultural paradigms that might have influenced

his work, as well as about the role the subject played in Giger’s life.

Fateful Encounter

The artist repeatedly produced brochures, exhibition posters, exhibition catalogues, and invitations

modeled on the portrait Li II (cat. no. 83; 1973–74), a large-format acrylic that he

painted as an homage to his partner Li Tobler (1948–75). 1 His almost obsessive use of the

image is evidence of its great significance in his oeuvre and also reveals a deep connection

with the person depicted. Along with the record cover for the rock group Blondie

showing the face of Debbie Harry (1981), the painted-over photograph of Friedrich Kuhn

(1973), a portrait of Sergius Golowin (1977), and other commissioned work, it is one of the

few portraits of Giger’s. At the same time, with its high cheekbones, wide-set, almondshaped

eyes, and delicate features, it became a prototype for practically all women’s faces

that he subsequently portrayed.

The artist met the budding actress in Zürich in 1966 when she was taking lessons at the

studio theater with Felix Rellstab, the founding director of the Neumarkt theater. Li Tobler

was active at a time in the history of Zürich theater that was marked by tension and a sense

of new beginnings. Felix Rellstab was a politically astute and bold director who made au- 127

The multifaceted, always

surprising early work of Swiss

artist and designer HR Giger

HR GIGER

im Verlag Scheidegger & Spiess

Edited by Beat Stutzer

Book design by Guido Widmer

Paperback

approx. 168 pages, 106 color and 28

b/w illustrations

20 × 26.5 cm

978-3-03942-136-7 English

sFr. 49.00 | € 48.00 | £ 42.00 | $ 50.00


SEPTEMBER ISBN 9783039421367 2023 (US)

New edition of the only book published

to date on the multifaceted

early work of celebrated Swiss

artist and designer HR Giger

(1940–2014)

Features numerous works by HR

Giger that have rarely been

published or put on public display

Highlights relations of HR Giger’s

art to that of distinguished

precursors, such as Piranesi, Goya,

Fuseli, Klinger, and Ensor

9 783039 421367

HR Giger

The Oeuvre Before Alien 1961–1976

Also available:

HR Giger (1940–2014) remains one of the outstanding figures in Swiss art and design

history. He achieved international fame in 1979 for designing the fantastic creatures

and eerie environments that terrified moviegoers in Ridley Scott’s science fiction film

Alien. Yet, before these iconic creations made him a celebrity and won him an Academy

Award for visual effects, Giger was already highly regarded in the international

art world of the 1960s and 1970s, for taking one of the most independent positions in

the succession of Surrealism.

First published in 2007, this only book to date on HR Giger’s early work features a

comprehensive collection of his drawings, early airbrush paintings, and designs for

oppressive environments. It examines Giger’s art from its origins and places it in an art

history of horror. Most of the works shown in this volume are only rarely on public

display. Here they are presented in dialogue with works by distinguished precursors

such as Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Francisco de Goya, Henry Fuseli, Max Klinger,

and James Ensor.

Beat Stutzer is a Lucerne-based art historian, writer, and curator. He

served as director of the Bündner Kunstmuseum Chur from 1982–2011

and as curator of the Segantini Museum in St. Moritz from 1998–2016.

HR Giger by Camille Vivier

978-3-03942-116-9 English / German

sFr. 99.00 | € 97.00 | £ 85.00 | $ 110.00

ISBN 978-3-03942-116-9

9 783039 421169


Spring 2023 11

6

6 7

22 23

GODS & IDOLS SURROUND THE BORDER, 1998

104 105

Chaofeng Temple, Mt. Dagang, Alian Dist., Kaohsiung City

44 WONDERFUL, 2007

45

HOME VIDEO PARTY

118

Haw Par Villa, Singapore

REAL FICTIONS:

THE ART OF Dr. Sophie McIntyre

YAO JUI-CHUNG

Born in Taipei in 1969, Yao Jui-chung ( 姚瑞中 ) emerged

as an artist during a transformative period. Globalisation

and the proliferation of new digital technologies were

profoundly and irrevocably altering our understanding

of the world, and sense of place within it. Signalling the

end of totalitarianism and the Cold War, mass demonstrations

calling for democratic reform spread across

East Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. In Taiwan,

martial law, enforced for 38 consecutive years, was terminated

in July 1987. Restrictions on political opposition

parties, the mass media, and travel between Taiwan and

China were relaxed, and the island’s first Taiwan-born

and popularly elected President, Lee Teng-hui, came

to power. These events symbolised Taiwan’s transition

from a Chinese authoritarian one-party state into a Taiwanese

democratic and pluralistic society embracing

freedom of expression, self-determination and individualism.

For Yao and his generation, generally referred to as

the ‘post-martial law generation’, globalisation and democratisation

delivered a plethora of new opportunities

as well as challenges. After the lifting of martial law, this

generation had unprecedented access to information,

resources and networks that were previously unavailable

or censored. Opportunities to travel and exhibit

overseas, including in China, increased rapidly with the

global rise of contemporary Asian art and cross-Strait

travel and exchange. Recognising that traditional forms

and methods of visual expression were outmoded, Yao

and his peers began searching for more innovative and

pluralistic forms of expression that would more closely

reflect and directly respond to the realities of life in this

new era.

I was first introduced to Yao Jui-chung and his work in

Taipei when he was embarking on an artistic career while

completing mandatory military service. We met in 1994

at IT Park gallery, the first alternative, artist-run space in

Taiwan that focused on contemporary art, and where Yao

held his first solo exhibition. Entitled Territory Takeover,

the exhibition comprised a series of sepia-stained blackand-white

photographs depicting the artist, fully naked,

urinating on historically significant sites where successive

foreign imperial powers had landed in Taiwan. The

installation, which I discuss below, was bold, provocative

and thought-provoking, and it was the first of a series of

works the artist produced exploring what he describes

as ‘the historical destiny of humanity… (and its) incurable

absurdity’. 1

Yao Jui-chung’s art practice spans photography, painting,

drawing, video, performance and installation art,

and since we first met he has become internationally

renowned. He has represented Taiwan in major biennials

around the world, including in Venice, Yokohama, Shanghai,

and his work has featured in several exhibitions I have

curated that toured Australia and New Zealand. 2 Yet,

despite his international standing, in-depth scholarship

on Yao’s art practice is limited, especially in the English

language. 3 Considering the vast body of work Yao has

produced over these three decades, and constraints of

ROAMING AROUND THE RUINS:

made me both suspicious and curious about

my own origins, of which I was completely

ignorant. 19

1996, after restrictions on travel to China were lifted, Yao

visited this country for the first time. He wanted to experience

it first-hand and meet his step-siblings from his father’s

first family. He discovered, however, that the mythical and

nostalgic stories about the so-called ‘Motherland’ that his

teachers and father had related to him as a child, did not

correspond with China’s present-day realities. Reflecting on

his visit, Yao remarks:

When I go to China I find there is no

connection – [it] is just based on memory.

[In the 1990s] our economy was very strong

and it was before China really opened up

[…] When we go to China, they think we are

a rich man and they will rob you. Even if we

speak the same language and have a similar

lifestyle, you know, we are not really Chinese

people […] I was a tourist. I never touched

the land even though it’s the Motherland.

I go everywhere, but I never land there. I

don’t have too much feeling – even though

my father came from China. I wanted to see

Yao Jui-chung: one of Taiwan’s most internationally

acclaimed contemporary artists

REPUBLIC OF THE CYNIC: 1989, 2020 119

Edited and with an essay by

Sophie McIntyre

With a conversation between Yao

Jui-chung and Hou Hanru

Book design by Sabine Hahn

Hardback



30 × 24 cm

978-3-03942-135-0 English

sFr. 59.00 | € 58.00 | £ 55.00 | $ 65.00

The first comprehensive monograph

on Taiwanese contemporary artist

Yao Jui-chung published outside

Taiwan

Yao is one of Taiwan’s most internationally

acclaimed, imaginative,

and politically engaged contemporary

artists

Yao’s work reflects great political

and social commitment and is

characterized by its incisive and

humorous critique of Taiwan’s

history and identity


ISBN AUGUST 9783039421350 2023 (US)

9 783039 421350

Yao Jui-chung

Taiwanese contemporary artist Yao Jui-chung has gained international renown for his

imaginative, bold and incisive, and often humorous critiques of his country’s complex

and contested identity and history. Born in 1969, Yao grew up during a tumultuous

period, when Taiwan transformed from authoritarianism to democracy. His art,

which comprises photography, video, installation, and painting, draws inspiration

from history, politics, and society, and from China’s and Taiwan’s ancient artistic and

religious traditions and mythical worlds. As well as being an artist, Yao also works as

a curator and writer and has published several books on Taiwanese art.

This monograph is the first-ever comprehensive study of Yao Jui-chung’s work in English,

examining his practice over the past three decades. Featuring more than 200

images, it offers an essay by scholar, curator and Taiwan art specialist Sophie McIntyre

and an in-depth interview with the artist by Hou Hanru, the artistic director of

Rome’s MAXXI. The book will appeal to specialists, collectors, and students of art,

as well as scholars and students in Taiwan and China studies, politics, and history.

Sophie McIntyre is an academic at Queensland University of Technology

in Brisbane and a curator and writer specializing in Asian art, especially

from Taiwan. She has curated numerous international exhibitions and

published extensively on Taiwanese art.


Spring 2023 13

34 35

The monotype is a print and one-of-a-kind at the same time—

Marguerite Saegesser was a master of this technique

144 145

114 115

10

12

11

13

38 39

128 129

D

E

sie ihre Skulpturen. Zurück in der Schweiz lernte Saegesser

anlässlich seiner Ausstellung in der Galerie Schweizer Bildhauers Giacometti».[2] Im Gegensatz

den «dünnfadigen, langgestreckten Menschen des

Kornfeld in Bern den damals aufstrebenden amerikanischen

Künstler Sam Francis (1923—1994) kennen, jedoch die Bewegtheit der Figuren sowie der Raum,

zu Alberto Giacometti (1901–1966) ist für Saegesser

mit dem sie sich später in Palo Alto anfreunden wird. den sie dadurch einnehmen und definieren, wesentlich.

Insgesamt wurde die Ausstellung in dieser tra-

Im Winter 1952 nahm sie erstmals

mit einem Werk an der «Weihnachtsausstellung bernischer

Maler und Bildhauer» teil; als Frau war siegegenommen.

Saegesser hatte sich damit eine solide

ditionsreichen Galerie viel besprochen und gut aufwissermassen

zu Gast und durfte nur zwei Werke einreichen,

die Jury liess eines davon, gemäss Katalog

Fünf Jahre später, 1962 an der drit-

Basis für ihre weitere Karriere geschaffen.

eine Bronze mit dem Titel «Figur», für die Ausstellung ten Bieler Skulpturenausstellung «Plastik im Freien»,

zu. Mit Beginn der 1950er-Jahre entfaltete Saegesser

nach und nach ihre eigene formale Sprache. Ihre deren Seite. Sie präsentierte nun eine abstrakte Ei-

zeigte sich die Künstlerin von einer vollkommen an-

Figuren längten sich allmählich (Abb. 3 und 4), wurden

leichter und dynamischer, bis hin zur schmalen, insofern in Zusammenhang zu bringen war, als dass

senplastik, die mit der menschlichen Figur nur noch

dreidimensionalen Linie. In diese Schaffensphasee sie sie mit einer Höhe von 210 cm deutlich überragte

fällt der «Goalie», eine Skulptur, die dem Berner Fussballclub

BSC Young Boys von Max Saegesser ge-

formal an konstruktivistische Vorbilder gemahnten,

(Abb. 6). Während die Arbeiten dieser Werkgruppe

schenkt wurde (Abb. XX, S. XX) und heute auch vor zeigten sich die drei Eisenplastiken, die sie in der

dem neuen Wankdorf-Stadion wieder ihren Platz findet.

Als «plastische Zeichen» bezeichnete ein Kunstlung

1966 vorstellte, inspiriert von der Plastik des

folgenden Austragung der Bieler Plastikausstelkritiker

1957 jene jüngsten Werke (Abb. 5) anlässlich Informel äusserst zeitgemäss. Sie waren aus in die

Saegessers erster Ausstellung in Deutschland in der Höhe ragenden Dreiecksformen grob zusammengeschweisst.

An den Kanten blieben die unregelmässi-

Münchner Galerie von Wolfgang Gurlitt. Die «gotische

Körperlichkeit eines knienden weiblichen Torsos

[lässt] an Wilhelm Lehmbrucks «Der Gestürzte» hier, wie zuvor schon vom Rezensenten der Ausstelgen

Schweissnähte gewollt deutlich sichtbar. Auch

denken.»[1] Ein anderer Rezensent verglich sie mit lung bei Gurlitt bemerkt, lagen Assoziationen mit

3

4

5

2

52 53

4 5

Edited by Helen Hirsch

Book design by Büro 146

In cooperation with

Kunstmuseum Thun

Paperback



20 × 27 cm

978-3-03942-133-6 English / German

sFr. 39.00 | € 38.00 | £ 35.00 | $ 40.00


JULY ISBN 9783039421336 2023 (US)

First monograph on Swiss-American

artist Marguerite Saegesser

(1922–2011)

Focuses on Saegesser’s monotypes,

a historic printing process that

the artist played a major role in

reviving in the 20th century

Examines Marguerite Saegesser’s

artistic evolution in the environment

of Sam Francis and the San

Francisco art scene of the 1970s

Exhibition: Marguerite Saegesser

—American Monotypes at

Kunstmuseum Thun, Switzerland

(February 4 to April 16, 2023)

9 783039 421336

Marguerite Saegesser

American Monotypes

Marguerite Saegesser (1922–2011) achieved fame in the US, her adopted country for

many years, where her prints and paintings were repeatedly shown in group and solo

exhibitions in California and New York over a period of two decades. In her native

Switzerland, however, the artist and her multifaceted oeuvre are yet to be discovered.

This book fills this gap, featuring Saegesser’s art with a special focus on the monotype,

a printing technique developed in the 17th century and producing only a single original

at a time. It also demonstrates how Saegesser, who initially studied sculpture in

Lausanne, found her artistic destiny in America. Key to her evolution was San Francisco’s

lively art scene of the late 1970s, and in particular the painter Sam Francis, an

outstanding representative of action painting and abstract expressionism, who became

her friend and precursor. His fascination with the monotype quickly transferred to

Saegesser, who soon achieved mastery in it and made a significant contribution to the

revival of the historic technique.

Helen Hirsch is an art historian and director of Kunstmuseum Thun,

Switzerland.


Spring 2023 15

Résonance I, 1997

ILas afueras de Belchite – Indices de variation, 2002

Double page suivante :

Las afueras de Belchite (détail)

Plis et replis, 2002

Destinations, 1994–1995

Double page suivante :

15

43 Echo – Sombras electricas II, 2009

49

Destinations (détail) Incendie / Hertford – Faits et gestes, 2013

61

The art of Silvie Defraoui:

confronting a consistently

uncertain future

33

Also available:

27

Silvie und Chérif Defraoui

Archives du Futur

14 Comments 1984–2020

978-3-03942-004-9

English / French / German

sFr. 39.00 | € 38.00

£ 32.00 | $ 40.00

ISBN 978-3-03942-004-9

Silvie Defraoui

A work is never created alone,

but in conversation with the

world. On Words

978-3-85881-873-7

English / French

sFr. 15.00 | € 15.00

ISBN 978-3-85881-873-7

£ 12.00 | $ 18.00

9 783039 420049

9 783858 818737

Edited and with an essay by

Laurence Schmidlin

Book design by Katharina Lang

In cooperation with MCBA,

Lausanne

Hardback


illustrations

18.5 × 24.5 cm

978-3-03942-127-5


sFr. 35.00 | € 35.00 | £ 32.00 | $ 40.00

First book on Swiss artist Silvie

Defraoui’s work of the past three

decades

Features some forty artworks

created since 1994, some of which

are published in this book for the

first time ever

Exhibition: Silvie Defraoui:

Le tremblement des certitudes at

the MCBA in Lausanne, Switzerland

(March 10 to May 21, 2023)


ISBN AUGUST 9783039421275 2023 (US)

9 783039 421275

Le tremblement des certitudes

Silvie Defraoui

Unexpected events in the present can in the long term affect our view of both the past

and the future. Dealing with this fundamental uncertainty as an artist characterizes

the work of Silvie Defraoui, born 1935, and also determines her Archives du Futur, the

platform for artistic reflection she initiated in 1975 together with her late partner

Chérif (1932–94).

This elegant book features some forty works that Defraoui has created since 1994,

using the media of video, painting, neon, and photography. Some them have been

newly created for her major solo exhibition at the MCBA in Lausanne in spring 2023

and are published in this book for the first time. All of them bear witness to continuous

change and impressively illustrate the metamorphosis of the Archives du Futur,

which has now been in existence for almost five decades. Laurence Schmidlin’s essay

offers a new approach to Defraoui’s artistic ideas and concepts.

Laurence Schmidlin is an art historian and was appointed director of

the Musée d’art du Valais in Sion in 2022. Prior to that she was

curator of contemporary art at the MCBA in Lausanne, Switzerland.


Spring 2023 17

31 Feldstrasse, Blick nach Osten, Zelgli-Quartier 0012

68

69

2005

2007

2009

2011

2013

2015

2017

2019

A unique visual study of spatial change in Switzerland

since 2005

04 Engstringerbrücke, Blick nach Nordosten, Rietbach- und Rüti-Gebiet 0121

14

15

2005

2007

2009

2011

2013

2015

2017

2019

Edited by Meret Wandeler, Ulrich

Görlich, and Caspar Schärer

Book design by Elektrosmog

In cooperation with Zurich University

of the Arts ZHdK / IFCAR

2 volumes in slipcase, hardback


illustrations

22.5 × 30 cm

978-3-03942-140-4 English

978-3-03942-139-8 German

sFr. 79.00 | € 77.00 | £ 70.00 | $ 85.00


SEPTEMBER 2023 (US)

ISBN 9783039421404

ISBN 9783039421398

Urban Change Over Time is the

most comprehensive photographic

study of urban development in

German-speaking Europe to date

This unique image archive demonstrates

how urbanization processes

affect local residents’ habitats

Visualizes continuous spatial

changes that are not immediately

perceptible in everyday life

The two-volumes set features

some 700 previously unpublished

color photographs taken over

the research period 2005–20,

supplemented with essays, analyses

and interpretations, and maps

English

German

9 783039 421404

9 783039 421398

Urban Change Over Time

The Photographic Observation of Schlieren 2005–2020 Reveals

How Switzerland Is Changing

The long-term Photographic Observation Schlieren is a much-recognized unique research

project that documents urban development in Switzerland. Over a period of

fifteen years, a photographic record of building activity and urbanization processes

was conducted to demonstrate how these are altering the character of a typical Swiss

suburban community. The chosen example was the town of Schlieren, bordering the

city of Zurich to the west, whose population grew from 13,000 to 20,000 residents

during the observation period of 2005–20. At Sixty-three locations throughout

Schlieren, pictures were taken under identical conditions every two years that show

the changes in the spatial interplay of buildings, streets, and green spaces. Simultaneously,

series of topical detailed photographs were produced that focus on individual

objects and tell of the appropriation, design, and aesthetics of habitats, such as store

fronts, building entrances, playgrounds, parking entrances, etc.

This two-volume book brings together the results of this spectacular research. The

Archive volume features the entire body of the eight images taken at each of the sixtythree

sites to visualize the deep changes Schlieren has undergone during these fifteen

years. The Essays volume combines the topical image series with essays that offer indepth

examination of the study’s subject, detailed analyses and interpretations, and

interviews by expert authors from various disciplines.

Meret Wandeler is a Zurich-based photographer and artist who has

conducted several artistic research projects on spatial development in

Switzerland.

Ulrich Görlich is an artist and former head of the Master of Fine Arts

program at Zurich University of the Art ZHdK.

Caspar Schärer is a Zurich-based architect and writer who also serves

as secretary general of the Federation of Swiss Architects (BSA).


Spring 2023 19

VENUS

WITH

A

NECKLACE

ARISTIDE MAILLOL

1928

BRONZE

175×62×44 CM

24 25

4 5

Germaine Richier: Die Kröte / Le Crapaud, Xxxxx, 1942

52 53

26 27

A new look at the classical

academic artist Aristide Maillol

(1861–1944) and his art in

the context of current gender

debates

Sylvie Fleury: 283 Chevy, 1999

Features Aristide Maillol’s Vénus au collier

together with works by:

Judith Berstein (USA, born 1942)

Anna Boghiguian (Egypt, born 1946)

Verena Loewensberg (Switzerland, 1912–86)

Helen Dahm (Switzerland, 1878–1968)

Nathalie Djurberg (Sweden, born 1978) /

Hans Berg (Sweden, born 1978)

Sylvie Fleury (Switzerland, born 1961)

Isa Genzken (Germany, born 1948)

Jenny Holzer (USA, born 1950)

Angelika Kauffmann (Austria, 1741–1807)

Meret Oppenheim (Switzerland, 1913–85)

Ottilie Wilhelmine Roederstein (Germany, 1859–1937)

Germaine Richier (France, 1902–59)

Sophie Taeuber-Arp (Switzerland, 1889–1943)

Rebecca Warren (Britain, born 1965)

64 65

Edited by Kunsthaus Zürich

Book design by Ralf Klöden

Paperback


illustrations

17 × 23.5 cm

978-3-03942-125-1 English / German

sFr. 25.00 | € 25.00 | £ 22.00 | $ 29.00

AVAILABLE (Europe)

MARCH 2023 (US)

ISBN 978-3-03942-125-1

Explores the question of the foundation

of the male gaze at women

practiced by classical academic

artists of the 19th and early 20th

centuries, and how we perceive it

today against the backdrop of

current gender debates

An extraordinary photo essay

juxtaposes Maillol’s Vénus au

collier with works by modern and

contemporary women artists

With a contribution by feminist art

historian and curator Catherine

McCormack

9 783039 421251

Maillol—A Different View

French sculptor Aristide Maillol (1861–1944) is sometimes referred to as the “Cézanne

of sculpture” as he, like Paul Cézanne in the case of painting, paved the way for abstraction

in his artistic field. Maillol began his career as a painter and produced a

highly attractive body of work that is far too little known outside France.

This book, published in conjunction with a comprehensive Maillol exhibition at the

Kunsthaus Zürich, asks questions about the foundation of that male gaze at women

that Maillol’s art reflects, and how we perceive it today against the background of

current gender debates. Franca Candrian’s extraordinary photo essay confronts

Maillol’s Vénus au collier with works by modern and contemporary women artists

from the Kunsthaus Zürich’s collection. An essay by feminist art historian and curator

Catherine McCormack explores the presence of this art—which in most cases depicts

female nudes—in contemporary museums. Supplemented by an introduction by

Philippe Büttner, curator of Kunsthaus Zürich’s permanent collection, the book thus

offers a new, different view of Aristide Maillol and his art.

Kunsthaus Zürich is one of Europe’s leading art museums and

Switzerland’s largest art institution. Its permanent collection

comprises masterpieces ranging from medieval to contemporary

art, with a focus on French Impressionism, Postimpressionism,

and classical modernism.


Spring 2023 21

Orang-Utan-Fell, 2009, Holzrelief,

Trophäen, 2019, mehrteilig, je 40 bis 80 cm

Skizze, 2016, New York

on and on, Wandzeichnung, 2016, Orchard Street,

SOLIVAGANT*

Contemporary Art Project Space, New York

Cuba Raben, 2018, Lindenholz, Schlagmetall

vergoldet, 120 × 120 × 15 cm

Skizze, 2016, New York

Selbstportrait, 2016, New York

Begegnungsstätte III, 2003, 60-teilig, je 35 cm 60 61

installation, which brings together a pack of life-size wolves

lismus verpflichtete, aus Holz geschaffene Rehköpfe wurden

carved out of solid wood with painted surfaces. In terms of content,

it is a continuation of “Rotkäppchen” (2014). The focus

Familienbande, Muttersein und Sinnlichkeit. Auch das Werk

an die Wand montiert. Das Reh gilt als Krafttier und steht für

here, however, is on the wolf. The wolf is at once a predator and

«Trophäen» (2019) setzt sich mit der Thematik «Verletzbarkeit

a hunter. At the same time, however, it is hunted by humans and

und Wehrhaftigkeit» auseinander. Es umfasst 180 aus dem Holz

becomes their hunting trophy. The nature of the wolf is characterised

by a strong dichotomy. As a reputed and humanised vil-

nördlichen und der südlichen Hemisphäre: der Kuh und dem

geschälte und in Farbe gefasste Hörner von je zwei Tieren der

lain, it has found its way into idioms, proverbs and fables. Quite

Steinbock sowie dem Buschbock und dem Wüstenbock.

unjustifiably, because the sensitive and extremely adaptable animal

has a pronounced social intelligence and is depicted in all

Von besonderer Prägnanz und Ästhetik ist die Installation

cultures as a strong pack animal with special powers.

«Ereignisse 1» (2019), die ein Rudel aus lebensgrossen, aus dem

vollen Holz herausgearbeiteten und farbig bemalten Wölfen zusammenfasst.

Inhaltlich ist sie eine Weiterführung der Arbeit

«Rotkäppchen»(2014). Hier liegt jedoch der Fokus auf dem Wolf.

Private and Public

Dieser ist ein Raubtier und ein Jäger. Gleichzeitig ist er ein vom

Three works were inspired during his artistic sojourn in New

Menschen Gejagter, er wird zu dessen Jagdtrophäe. Das Wesen

York in 2016: “Embleme”, “Rückenkratzer” and “big teddy”, all

des Wolfes ist von einer starken Gegensätzlichkeit geprägt. Als

of which again refer to vulnerability and the private as well as

vermeintlicher und vermenschlichter Bösewicht hat er Einzug

exposure and the public in a very unique form of expression.

in Redewendungen, Sprichwörter und Fabeln gehalten. Ganz zu

The “Embleme” (2016) series consists of several small-format

Unrecht, denn das sensible und äusserst anpassungsfähige Tier

wooden sculptures, all set in colour and gold or aluminium leaf.

hat einen ausgeprägten Sozialsinn und wird in allen Kulturen

The wooden protagonists are rabbits and rats – animals that

als starkes Rudeltier mit besonderen Kräften dargestellt.

inhabit the fields surrounding the metropolis of New York in

large numbers – presented on nimbuses. Animals of everyday

Intimität und Öffentlichkeit

life thus acquire an aura of the sacred and are elevated to icons.

Während des Atelieraufenthalts in New York 2016 entstanden

This contrast in content corresponds with the creative realisation

between the subtle and realistic as well as the ephemeral and

zer» und «big teddy», die alle in einer ganz eigenen Ausdrucks-

die drei örtlich inspirierten Arbeiten «Embleme», «Rückenkrat-

abstract. In a similar vein, “Cuba Raben” (2018), created for a

form wieder auf Verletzbarkeit und Intimität sowie Ausgesetztheit

und Öffentlichkeit verweisen.

group exhibition in Havana, follows this collection of works in

terms of content and design.

Die Serie «Embleme» (2016) besteht aus mehreren kleinformatigen

Holzarbeiten, alle gefasst in Farbe und Blattgold oder

“big teddy” (2016) is a huge American rubbish bag in its original

size and made of wood, here with a teddy bear inside. A rubbish

-aluminium. Die hölzernen Protagonisten, Hasen und Ratten –

bag with its contents represents a household. It is filled with intimacy

and therefore harbours a secret from outsiders. Yet the

grosser Zahl beleben –, sind auf Nimben inszeniert. Die Tiere

Tiere, welche die Felder im Umland der Metropole New York in

plastic skin is very thin and vulnerable. Three years later, the

des Alltags, die so eine Aura des Heiligen bekommen, werden

wooden rubbish bags were part of the “big teddy” (2019) installation

in St. Peter’s Chapel in Lucerne. On display during Pas-

mit der gestalterischen Umsetzung zwischen feiner und rea-

zu Ikonen erhoben. Dieser inhaltliche Kontrast korrespondiert

siontide between Carnival and Easter, they referenced sins and

listischer sowie flüchtiger und abstrahierter Bearbeitung. Die

their atonement as well as the hidden, dark chapters of church

für eine Gruppenausstellung in Havanna (Kuba) entstandene

history.

Arbeit «Cuba Raben» (2018) folgt inhaltlich und gestalterisch

dieser Werkgruppe.

“Rückenkratzer” (2016) also aligns with the theme of private

Der «big teddy» (2016) ist ein in Originalgrösse aus Holz geschaffener,

riesiger amerikanischer Abfallsack, hier mit einem

versus public. The 25 wooden objects presented in the installation

are fanciful and filigree as well as completely different in

einverleibten Teddybären. Ein Abfallsack porträtiert mit seiner

design: they are fitted with little hands on top and on the bottom

Füllung einen Haushalt, er ist gefüllt mit Intimität. Er birgt also

with a cow’s tail, meat tenderiser, dildo, massage ball and other

für Aussenstehende ein Geheimnis. Dabei ist die Plastikhaut

items. A backscratcher is a helper when you are alone, it provides

sehr dünn und verletzlich. Drei Jahre später fanden die Abfallsäcke

aus Holz im Rahmen der Installation «big teddy» (2019)

well-being or – if the pressure is too great – pain. A continuation

of the content-related theme as well as the diversification of

einen Platz in der Peterskapelle in Luzern. In der Passionszeit

176 177

An illuminating survey of Swiss

artist Rochus Lussi’s work of

three decades

198

199

140 × 100 × 6 cm 140 141 368 369

«WolfWolf», 2021, Liveaufnahme expoTURBINE Giswil, mit Marcel Frank und Reto Eller 357

72 73

Texts by Brigitte Moser, Janine

Schmutz, Urs Sibler, and Heinz

Stahlhut

Book design by Hampi Krähenbühl

Hardback



21 × 26.5 cm

978-3-03942-143-5 English / German

sFr. 79.00 | € 77.00 | £ 70.00 | $ 90.00

First monograph on Swiss artist

Rochus Lussi, offering a survey of

his entire body of work from three

decades

Richly illustrated and featuring

numerous works published in this

book for the first time ever

The individual’s existence in the

mass and issues of vulnerability,

sensitivity, and defensibility are

the key topics of Rochus Lussi’s art


AUGUST ISBN 9783039421435 2023 (US)

9 783039 421435

Rochus Lussi—Thin Skin

Works 1992–2023

Swiss artist Rochus Lussi, born in 1965, examines the individual’s existence in the

mass. Issues of vulnerability, sensitivity, and defensibility are also key topics of his art,

for which he mainly employs the mediums of sculpture and installation, but also

drawings and performance.

This first monograph on Lussi offers a broad survey of his work from thirty years,

featuring small and multi-part installations, wood sculptures, works on paper, and

photographs of his performance actions. The human figure is at the core of his early

works, yet over time this begins to dissolve, and forms from everyday life, structures,

draperies, surfaces of different body worlds come to the fore. The comprehensive visual

presentation of Lussi’s oeuvre is supplemented with essays contributed by art historians,

curators, and art educators.

Brigitte Moser is an art historian and researcher based in Zug,

Switzerland.

Janine Schmutz is head of art education at the Fondation Beyeler

in Riehen, near Basel, Switzerland.

Urs Sibler is a freelance art educator and curator based in Stans,

Switzerland.

Heinz Stahlhut is an art historian and director of Hans Erni Museum

in Lucerne, Switzerland.


Spring 2023 23

1 Vgl.: GERBER (1984): Theo Gerber: Ghiribizzi. Zeichnungen. Dessins.

Zürich 1984, S. 23.

2 Vgl.: NIZON (1970): Paul Nizon: Diskurs in der Enge. Schriften zur

Schweizer Kunst. Zürich 1970, S. 45.

3 Vgl.: Ebd., S. 46.

4 Vgl.: GERBER (1984): Theo Gerber: Ghiribizzi. Zeichnungen. Dessins.

Zürich 1984, S. 20.

1 Cf. : GERBER (1984) : Theo Gerber : Ghiribizzi. Zeichnungen. Dessins.

Zurich 1984, p. 23.

2 Cf. : NIZON (1970) : Paul Nizon : Diskurs in der Enge. Schriften zur

Schweizer Kunst. Zurich 1970, p. 45.

3 Cf. : Ibid., p. 46.

4 Cf. : GERBER (1984) : Theo Gerber : Ghiribizzi. Zeichnungen. Dessins. Zurich

1984, p. 20.

Suche nach

Grenzen losigkeit

Quête d’infini

Alisa Klay

«Ich misstraue den Gesetzen [sic] die andere errichtet

haben, das Erstarren der Form ist bedroh-

par d’autres, l’immobilisation de la forme a

« Je me méfie des lois [sic] qui ont été édictées

lich, und ich fürchte mich vor Grenzen.» Diese quelque chose de menaçant et les délimitations

Aussage des Schweizer Künstlers Theo Gerber me font peur. » Cette déclaration de l’artiste

ist exemplarisch und scheint der Ausgangspunkt suisse Theo Gerber est exemplaire ; elle semble

seiner Lebensreise wie auch die Voraussetzung constituer à la fois le point de départ de sa trajectoire

et les prémisses de sa conception du

für seine Weltauffassung zu sein, die ebenso in

seiner Kunst zum Ausdruck kommt. Geboren monde, qui s’expriment également dans son

und aufgewachsen in Thun, fühlt sich der Freigeist

in der bürgerlichen Idylle des Berner Ober-

libre voit le jour et grandit, un lieu bourgeois et

œuvre artistique. C’est à Thoune que cet esprit

landes regelrecht gefangen. «Meine Heimat ist idyllique de l’Oberland bernois dans lequel il se

begrenzt von so verschiedenen Berghöhen wie sent rapidement à l’étroit : « La ville d’où je viens

der Alpenkette, dem Jura und den Emmentaler est délimitée par des sommets montagneux

Hügeln; sie ist wie eingesperrt. Es scheint

aussi variés que la chaîne des Alpes, le Jura et

schwer, einen Weg zu finden – einen Ausweg – les collines de l’Emmental : elle est comme cloisonnée.

Il semble ne pas y avoir d’issue, de

auf die andere Seite.» 1 Gerbers Worte verdeutlichen

seine Sehnsucht nach Weite und beschreiben

zugleich das spezifische Gefühl der Enge, de Theo Gerber illustrent sa soif de grands es-

moyen de passer de l’autre côté. » 1 Ces propos

das Paul Nizon in seinem wegweisenden Aufsatz paces et traduisent cette sensation d’enfermement

si spécifique que Paul Nizon qualifiait de

von 1970 als schweizerisches Phänomen bezeichnet.

2 Tatsächlich mögen die Berge aufgrund « phénomène suisse » dans son essai pionnier de

ihrer mächtigen Präsenz und der unberechenbaren

Naturgewalt, die der atemberaubenden, aber époustouflant et mortellement dangereux pour

1970. 2 En effet, la montagne, lieu à la fois

für den Menschen lebensbedrohlichen Gebirgslandschaft

innewohnt, wie ein vermeintlich unposante

et une force si imprévisible qu’on pour-

l’Homme, dégage une impression tellement imüberwindbares

Hindernis erscheinen. Doch die rait la considérer comme un obstacle insurmontable.

Cette peur des espaces confinés n’est pas

Furcht vor der Enge resultiert nicht nur aus der

geologischen Beschaffenheit des Landes, sondern

entsteht vielmehr aus der «Absenz von giques, mais bien plus à « l’absence du monde »

seulement liée à des caractéristiques géolo-

Welt», die sich im Umkehrschluss durch eben qui est à son tour le résultat de ce confinement

jene natürliche Begrenzung ergibt. 3 Dabei stellt naturel. 3 En ce sens, la Suisse est une fois de

die Schweiz – um es mit den Worten Nizons auszudrücken

– einen zusätzlichen «Sonderfall» dar. Nizon. En effet, sa « neutralité éternelle » signi-

plus un Sonderfall pour reprendre les termes de

Denn ihre beständige Neutralität bedeutet fie qu’elle se tient toujours à distance du monde

gleichzeitig auch ihre stetige Distanz zur äusseren

Welt. So wirkt die Region, in der Theo Gerber Gerber grandit agit comme un microcosme dans

extérieur. Ainsi, la région dans laquelle Theo

aufwächst, wie ein eigener Kosmos, in dem sich lequel le jeune peintre se sent de plus en plus à

der junge Maler zunehmend eingeengt und fehl l’étroit et de moins en moins à sa place.

am Platz fühlt.

«Stundenlang träumte ich am Wasser; nur selten « Je passais des heures à rêver au bord de l’eau

malte ich ein Bild. Zwischen Seegras und lautlosen

Fischen, wenn Wellen spiegelten, ent-

algues et les poissons silencieux, je découvrais

et ne peignais qu’en de rares occasions. Entre les

deckte ich seltsame Welten.» 4 Niedergeschriebene

Erinnerungen wie diese zeugen von dem vagues. » 4 Le récit de souvenirs tels que

des mondes étranges lorsque chatoyaient les

celui-ci

36 Alisa Klay

37 Suche nach Grenzen losig keit / Quête d’infini

Detail Nostalgie

→ S.13

Artistic freedom meant more

Le plaisir, 1977

87

to him than fame and glory:

Öl auf Leinwand, 81 × 100 cm

the Swiss painter Theo Gerber

Le vent a tourné, 1970

72 Öl auf Leinwand, 80 × 80 cm

73

Detail Visite chez Damo

→ S.13

Bildtitel Bildtitel, 1953/57

Technik auf Deutsch, 121×90 cm

Bildtitel Bildtitel, 1953/57

66 Technik auf Deutsch, 121×90 cm

67

No 517, 1970

Acryl auf Leinwand, 62 × 50 cm

Edited by Helen Hirsch

Book design by Bonsma & Reist

In cooperation with

Kunstmuseum Thun

Paperback



22 × 31 cm

978-3-03942-126-8 French / German

First-ever monograph on Swiss

painter Theo Gerber (1928–1997)

Traces Theo Gerber’s career in

Switzerland, Paris, and Africa and

sheds light on his involvement with

the Swiss artist collective Ulysses

Exhibition: Theo Gerber—Science

Fiction at Kunstmuseum Thun,

Switzerland (February 4 to April

16, 2023)

sFr. 39.00 | € 38.00 | £ 35.00 | $ 45.00

MARCH ISBN 9783039421268 2023 (Europe)

9 783039 421268

Theo Gerber

Science Fiction

“We dive into Gerber’s worlds to lose ourselves and to find ourselves again in amazing

places.” This is how the Swiss art historian and acclaimed novelist Paul Nizon characterized

the work of his compatriot, the painter Theo Gerber (1928–1997). Gerber was

a free spirit who has remained largely unknown in his native country until the present

day. This is due to the artist’s own choice, having rejected the efforts of gallery owners

to introduce his works to the general public. For Gerber, success did not mean fame

and glory, but rather that his art showed a different possibility from that of his contemporaries.

The way in which Gerber, who roamed between a variety of styles,

traveled the world, and lived with the ethnic group of the Dogon in West Africa for

two years during a creative crisis, upheld his artistic freedom makes it impossible to

assign him to a specific direction in 20th-century art.

This book, published to coincide with a retrospective exhibition at the Kunstmuseum

Thun, Switzerland, is an overdue tribute to this, in the best sense of the word, incomprehensible

artist and finally provides the general public with a chance to discover and

recognize his oeuvre.

Helen Hirsch is an art historian and director of Kunstmuseum Thun,

Switzerland.


Spring 2023 25

A timely tribute to Romantic

painting: the Swiss artist

brothers Léopold and Aurèle

Robert

Edited by David Lemaire and

Antonia Nessi

Book design by onlab

In cooperation with Musée des

beaux-arts de La Chaux-de-Fonds

and Musée d’art et d’histoire de

Neuchâtel

Hardback


illustrations

23.5 × 28.5 cm

978-3-85881-887-4 French

sFr. 49.00 | € 48.00 | £ 45.00 | $ 55.00

JUNE ISBN 9783858818874 2023 (Europe)

First major book in four decades on

the 19th-century Swiss artist

brothers Léopold and Aurèle Robert

Based on an interdisciplinary joint

research project of the University

of Neuchâtel, Switzerland, and the

École du Louvre in Paris

Scholarly essays and some 170 color

plates are complemented by a

literary text by acclaimed French

author Pierre Senges

Exhibition: Léopold et Aurèle

Robert. Oh saisons … at the

Musée des beaux-arts in La Chauxde-Fonds,

Switzerland, and the

Musée d’art et d’histoire in

Neuchâtel, Switzerland (May 15 to

October 15, 2023)

9 783858 818874

Léopold et Aurèle Robert

Swiss painter Léopold Robert (1794–1835) is emblematic of the romantic myth of the

artist with a tragic destiny. Educated in Paris at the École des Beaux-Arts and in the

studios of artists Jacques-Louis David and Edouard Girardet, he moved to Italy in

1818. With the substantial assistance of his brother and fellow artist Aurèle (1805–71),

he created idealized depictions of Italian brigand life and gained recognition throughout

Europe. Yet, his success as a painter did not save him from the deep melancholy

that eventually led to his suicide in 1835, due also to his unrequited love for Princess

Charlotte Bonaparte. Loved and praised by collectors and art critics of their time, the

Robert brothers’ oeuvre gradually fell into oblivion after Léopold’s death and Aurèle’s

subsequent return to Switzerland.

This book, published to coincide with a dual exhibition at the Musée d’art et d’histoire

in Neuchâtel and the Musée des beaux-arts in the Robert brothers’ native town of La

Chaux-de-Fonds, pays tribute to their art and brings their great skill as painters back

into focus. Based on a major research project at the University of Neuchâtel and the

École du Louvre in Paris, it offers scholarly essays alongside some 170 color plates.

David Lemaire is director of the Musée des beaux-arts in La Chaux-de-

Fonds, Switzerland.

Antonia Nessi is co-director of the Musée d’art et d’histoire in Neuchâtel,

Switzerland.


Spring 2023 27

The rediscovery of a previously

overlooked Swiss artist

Edited by Francesca Benini and

Arianna Quaglio

Book design by Martina Brassel

In cooperation with MASI Lugano

and Museum Haus Konstruktiv,

Zurich

Paperback


illustrations

23 × 30 cm

978-3-03942-131-2 Italian / German

First comprehensive monograph

on Hedi Mertens, a significant

representative of Concrete art in

Switzerland

Enables the rediscovery of an important

yet forgotten Swiss artist

Exhibition: Hedi Mertens at MASI

Lugano (March 10 to May 21, 2023)

and Museum Haus Konstruktiv in

Zurich (spring 2024)

sFr. 49.00 | € 48.00 | £ 45.00 | $ 55.00

APRIL ISBN 9783039421312 2023 (Europe)

9 783039 421312

Hedi Mertens

The career of Swiss painter Hedi Mertens (1893–1982) differs in many respects from

that of other artists of her time. Following a classical art education in Zurich and

Munich, she moved primarily in intellectual milieus that brought her closer to the

Constructivist-Concrete art movement, which had an epicenter in Zurich around Max

Bill and Richard Paul Lohse. Lohse was one of Mertens’ most influential companions

and interlocutors, together with Leo Leuppi, Arend Fuhrmann, and Helen Dahm,

with whom she shared a deep fascination for the teachings of Indian guru Shri Meher

Baba. At the age of 67, Mertens moved to Ticino, in southern Switzerland, where she

finally let the manifold sources of inspiration flow into her own art. Within two decades

Mertens created some 200 geometric-abstract paintings that urgently await their

much-deserved appreciation.

This first monograph on Hedi Mertens, published in conjunction with exhibitions at

MASI Lugano and the Museum Haus Konstruktiv in Zurich, brings the masterful art

and eventful life of this Swiss painter into focus. It enables the rediscovery of a significant

representative of Concrete art in Switzerland who has been overlooked too

long.

Francesca Benini is an art historian and curator at MASI Lugano.

Arianna Quaglio is an art historian and junior curator at MASI Lugano.


Spring 2023 29

Vibrant metropolis and placid

Switzerland: Lill Tschudi’s modernist

linocuts

Lill Tschudi

The Excitement of the Modern Linocut

1930–1950

978-3-03942-057-5 English / German

sFr. ISBN 978-3-03942-057-5 39.00 | € 38.00 | £ 35.00 | $ 45.00

A unique insight into Marina

Abramovićs biography and art

and what connects the two

Psychoanalyst meets

Marina Abramović

Artist meets Jeannette Fischer

978-3-85881-794-5 English

978-3-85881-546-0 German

sFr. 19.00 | € 19.00 | £ 18.00 | $ 20.00

ISBN 978-3-85881-794-5

ISBN 978-3-85881-546-0

9 783039 420575

English

German

9 783858 817945

9 783858 815460

The life and work of Meret Oppenheim:

insights, interpretations, and indications

Meret Oppenheim Enigmas

A Journey Through Her Life and Work

978-3-03942-063-6 English

978-3-03942-046-9 German

sFr. 39.00 | € 38.00 | £ 30.00 | $ 39.00

ISBN 978-3-03942-063-6

ISBN 978-3-03942-046-9

English

German

Very intimate insights:

Meret Oppenheim’s album and

autobiography

Meret Oppenheim—My Album

The autobiographical Album “From

Childhood until 1943” and her

handwritten biography

978-3-03942-093-3 English / German

sFr. 49.00 | € 48.00 | £ 42.00 | $ 50.00

ISBN 978-3-03942-093-3

9 783039 420636

9 783039 420469

9 783039 420933

An extraordinary collection of

Paul Klee’s drawings, watercolors,

and prints

Paul Klee

The Sylvie and Jorge Helft Collection

978-3-03942-107-7 English

978-3-03942-106-0 German

sFr. 49.00 | € 48.00 | £ 42.00 | $ 50.00

ISBN 978-3-03942-107-7

ISBN 978-3-03942-106-0

An extraordinary artist and designer:

a fresh view of Harry Bertoia’s entire

body of work

Harry Bertoia

Sculpting Mid-Century Modern Life

978-3-85881-862-1 English

sFr. ISBN 978-3-85881-862-1 65.00 | € 58.00 | £ 52.00 | $ 59.00

English

German

9 783858 818621

9 783039 421077

9 783039 421060

From Constructivism to Art Deco and

back to avant-garde and the Bauhaus:

a unique survey of transformations of

Soviet interior design across six

decades

Soviet Design

From Constructivism to Modernism.

1920–1980

The cheerful style of Zurich-based

Atelier Zanolli

Atelier Zanolli

Fabrics, Fashion, Craft 1905–1939

978-3-03942-082-7 English

978-3-03942-081-0 German

sFr. 49.00 | € 48.00 | £ 45.00 | $ 55.00

ISBN 978-3-03942-082-7

ISBN 978-3-03942-081-0

978-3-85881-846-1 English

sFr. ISBN 978-3-85881-846-1 99.00 | € 77.00 | £ 65.00 | $ 85.00

English

9 783039 420827

German

9 783039 420810

9 783858 818461


Key Titles 30

The magic and fascination of Chinese

jade objects outstandingly presented

in photographs

Forever Jade

Chinese Jade Miniatures from Four

Millennia

978-3-03942-102-2 English / German

sFr. ISBN 978-3-03942-102-2 39.00 | € 38.00 | £ 32.00 | $ 45.00

An illustrated reader on the highly

topical subject of tribal art in the

museums of the Global North

Pathways of Art

How Objects Get to the Museum

978-3-03942-097-1 English

978-3-03942-096-4 German

sFr. 39.00 | € 38.00 | £ 32.00 | $ 40.00

ISBN 978-3-03942-097-1

ISBN 978-3-03942-096-4

English

German

9 783039 421022

9 783039 420971

9 783039 420964

Painter Caroline Bachmann: 2022

laureate of Switzerland’s Prix Meret

Oppenheim for art

Caroline Bachmann

978-3-85881-886-7 English / French

sFr. ISBN 978-3-85881-886-7 49.00 | € 48.00 | £ 45.00 | $ 55.00

A unique long-term project of

photographic art without camera

The Never Taken Images

Photographic Paper Archive 1880–1990

978-3-03942-091-9


sFr. 49.00 | € 48.00 | £ 45.00 | $ 55.00

ISBN 978-3-03942-091-9

9 783858 818867

9 783039 420919

Peter Zumthor’s surprising and revealing

reflections on time and history in

conversation with architectural historian

Mari Lending

A Feeling of History

978-3-85881-805-8 English

978-3-85881-812-6 French

978-3-85881-558-3 German

sFr. 29.00 | € 29.00 | £ 25.00 | $ 29.00

ISBN 978-3-85881-805-8

ISBN 978-3-85881-812-6

In conversation, Peter Zumthor explores

his own and his guests’ passions

Dear to Me

Peter Zumthor in Conversation

978-3-03942-010-0 English

978-3-03942-009-4 German

sFr. 160.00 | € 150.00 | £ 140.00 | $ 180.00

ISBN 978-3-03942-010-0

ISBN 978-3-03942-009-4

English

German

English

French

9 783039 420100

9 783039 420094

9 783858 818058

9 783858 818126

An entirely new artistic approach to

Le Corbusier’s iconic chapel of

Notre-Dame-du-Haut in Ronchamp

Le Corbusier Ronchamp

Siegrun Appelt

978-3-85881-695-5 English / German

sFr. ISBN 978-3-85881-695-5 39.00 | € 38.00 | £ 35.00 | $ 40.00

Looking beyond the popular fascination

with trendy tiny houses

Open House

Designing Spaces for Living

978-3-85881-885-0 English / French

sFr. 39.00 | € 38.00 | £ 32.00 | $ 40.00

ISBN 978-3-85881-885-0

9 783858 816955

9 783858 818850


Key Titles 31


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Scheidegger & Spiess International New Titles Spring 2023

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