Basel and art. A journey among the museums of the city.
From 1970 on, Basel is the Swiss city of art par excellence: that was the first year of Art Basel, annual event that unifies in Messeplatz the best art galleries of the world for a wide and cosmopolite public.
The connection of the “city on the Rhine” with art has longer origins. In 1661, the collection of the jurist Basilius Amerbach was acquired by the city and got public: that’s how the first museum for the middle class was born, Basel’s Kunstmuseum, which is now one of the most important in the world.
The museum’s collection gathers masterpieces from the fifteenth century to the present, cleverly ranging from classic to contemporary. There are many Swiss artists: from Caspar Wolf to Böcklin, up to Calame, Hodler, Segantini and Giacometti. The collection is enriched by works belonging to French Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Cubism, Expressionism up to conceptual and contemporary art.
Since it’s currently closed for renovation, part of the massive collection is exhibited at Museum für Gegenwartskunst, together with other exhibitions. The location is really interesting, just outside the city centre, in a modern building overlooking the Rhine. Artrust Team couldn’t miss the opportunity to go there, during the trip to Art Basel.
The room on the ground floor hosts big size works by Frank Stella, whereas on the skylight, Bruce Nauman’s neon lights vices and virtues up. On the upper floors, rooms are dedicated to Martin Boyce and Joseph Beuys’ installations, leaving open spaces to conceptual art. The room dedicated to the exhibition Cézanne to Richter, Masterpieces from the the Kunstmuseum Basel is breathtaking: a succession of art masterpieces in a single big space. Starting with Böcklin and Rosseau’s symbolism, then a big central canvas by Léger, Chagall, Matisse and Kandinsky’s works, up to Fontana and Richter. A must-see on display until the 21st February 2016.
Between the main museums of Basel there is the Beyeler Foundation (http://www.fondationbeyeler.ch/en/Home), born at the behest of the couple Hildy and Ernst Beyeler, collectors of modern and contemporary art. The couple initially chose the Kunstmuseum to house their works, but soon they chose a different place where art could communicate with nature. From this desire, Renzo Piano designed a building, situated just outside the city of Basel, in Riehen. During the frenetic days of Art Basel, Beyeler Foundation becomes one of the most mundane places frequented by art lovers and jet set, a meeting point for visiting the exhibitions and talk about art. We went there too, discovering Tahitian haevens by Gauguin (on display until June 28) and Marlene Dumas’ portraits (The Image as Burden, until September 6).
Before visiting the Tinguely Museum, we took the opportunity to eat Chez Jeannot (http://www.chezjeannot.ch/). Founded in 1996 by the pharmaceutical Roche as a gift to the city of Basel on its 100th anniversary, the museum now houses an exceptional collection of mechanical works by Jean Tinguely, and is extremely suitable for younger visitors who can have fun finding alternative ways to discover art.
Niki de Saint Phalle, widow of the artist, donated the first works, laying the basis of the museum’s collection which has then expanded up to represent all stages of Jean Tinguely career: kinetic sculptures, assemblages, machines, but also drawings, photographs and archival materials.
As for Beyeler Foundations, also in Tinguely Museum art is linked to architecture: the building was in fact designed by the Swiss architect Mario Botta, who has conciliated the use of his typical brick in terracotta and geometric lines with the view of the Rhine.
The museum has also on display up to 6th Novembera temporary exhibition dedicated to Eva Aeppli, first wife of the Swiss artist, (who died last May), with a collection of works and photos, and an exhibition with emotional installations of the artist Haroon Mizra.
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We spent our last day to the beautiful Vitra Museum, in our opinion a must to be visited at least once in lifetime. Just outside the town but already in Germay, Vitra is one of the most important museum-campus of the world, dedicated to the history of design and the relationship between architecture, art and visual culture. It was founded in 1989 by Willi Fehlbaum, who transformed the area of Weil am Rhein into a campus dedicated to design. The space is divided into areas designed by renowned architects: among the most important ones, the building that hosts the annual exhibitions by Frank Gehry, the Fire Station by Zaha Hadid (a real fire station, designed after a fire), and the Promenade by Álvaro-Siza. The VitraHaus (2010, Herzog & de Meuron) hosts the company’s flagship: the showroom-museum where it is possible to see the history of Vitra collection and discover the most famous design in the world. Even the shop is worth a visit: small museum pieces to bring at home.
We come back to Ticino after three days dedicated to art ad Basel museums, ready to start again with new ideas and suggestions for our activities. Waiting for Art Basel 2016… #weloveourjob
