CULTURE AND ARTS
Key art and architecture experiences you shouldn’t miss in Switzerland
Key art and architecture experiences you shouldn’t miss
When it comes to art, Switzerland may be best known for its worldfamous Art Basel fair – but the country has so much more to offer. From excellent museums to eyecatching contemporary architecture, here’s where you should get your art fix.
LEARN ABOUT PROLIFIC ARTISTS
In Bern, the Zentrum Paul Klee – a glass-and-steel building with a distinctive wave-like silhouette – is dedicated to the eponymous Swiss-german artist. Here, you’ll find over 4,000 paintings that showcase Klee’s unique artistic style, influenced by movements such as Expressionism, Cubism, and Surrealism.
Over in Basel, the Museum Tinguely houses the works of Jean Tinguely, a prominent 20th-century sculptor. Tinguely was riveted by machines – especially the way they move and sound – and this fascination is reflects in his kinetic sculptures, which he dubbed “metamechanics”. These are supplemented by illustrations, photographs, and other artefacts that together offer an illuminating insight into the sculptor’s life and work.
DELVE INTO THE WORLD OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Shutterbugs should make a beeline for the Musée de l’elysée in Lausanne, which is one of Europe’s top photography museums. Besides admiring the works of famed Swiss snappers such as René Burri and Ella Maillart, you can learn more about photography’s history – from the 19th-century daguerreotype process to modern-day digital image processing. Do note that the museum is relocating to the Platforme 10 arts district in Lausanne, and is slated to reopen its doors in 2022.
The Centre for Photography in Winterthur, jointly run by the Fotostiftung Schweiz and the Fotomuseum Winterthur, offers a comprehensive overview of photography – both Swiss and international, historical, and contemporary. On show are individual works by top photographers, as well as themed group exhibitions-.
MARVEL AT CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE
Switzerland is home to a plethora of big-name architects: Le Corbusier, Mario Botta, Jacques Herzog, and Pierre de Meuron, to name a few. Le Corbusier is widely regarded as one of the pioneers of modern architecture. His genius is evident in the elegant Maison Blanche in Le Chaux-de-fonds, which he built in 1912 for his parents, and the colourful Pavilion Le Corbusier in Zurich, which was constructed in the 1960s for Swiss interior designer Heidi Weber.
SPOT THE SMURFS’ HOMES
While you won’t see any blueskinned creatures running around, this whimsical housing complex pays homage to the eponymous comic franchise in other ways. The buildings’ curved walls and bold facades are inspired by the colourful mushroom houses in which the Smurfs live – and they sure make for a great photo op!
ADMIRE PUBLIC ART
Some of Switzerland’s best works of art are not behind closed doors but out on the streets. Basel has a thriving urban art scene, which is best explored on a walking tour. Artstübli is a gallery that conducts street art tours on request; these include the Basel Line Tour, which will take you along a railway line adorned with graffiti by renowned artists such as Smash137 and Swet.
In Zurich, be sure to check out the iconic Guardian Angel sculpture by Niki de Saint Phalle, which presides over the main hall of the central train station. The angel in question – a voluptuous 11m-tall figure decked out in a colourful dress and a pair of golden wings – stands for self-confidence and liberation.
Other notable works of public art include the Meret Oppenheim Tower Fountain in Bern, a soaring concrete column carpeted in moss and wild grass in the summer and frozen over with icicles in the winter. Then there’s also the Broken Chair sculpture in Geneva – which, as its name suggests, is an enormous 5.5-tonne wooden sculpture of a chair with a broken leg. The brainchild of the carpenter Louis Genève is intended to remind visiting politicians of the plight of landmine victims worldwide.