There are currently several major art exhibitions in Swiss museums and foundations.
In Martigny, in the Valais in central Switzerland, at the Fondation Gianadda, at 59 rue du Forum, Martigny, there is a Chagall exhibit – Chagall Entre Ciel et Terre – through 19 November 2007 (www.gianadda.ch, tel: +41 27 722 3978).
The Gianadda Foundation is now well known for its star mega-exhibitions, often poorly lighted, badly hung, or dubiously catalogued.
Besides the Gianadda Foundation’s flashy exhibits, Martigny is also known for its yearly ‘combat des reines,’ in which farmers let their cows fight it out in the ring, and then at the end of the day crown the feistiest female Queen.
The Gianadda’s Chagall exhibit contains numerous important canvases, gouaches and sketches. The catalog contents do not always correspond to what is hanging on the walls, which are well-crowded. There are several key paintings from the Soviet years.
At the Musée Jensich, 2 avenue de La Gare, in Vevey, until 9 September, there is an exhibit of Oskar Kokoschka (museejenisch.ch, tel: 41 21 921 2950).
Koksoshka, who lived for a while on the Swiss Riviera of which Vevey is a part, who’s early reputation was built upon his violent expressionistic canvases, settled into quiet landscapes after the 20’s. The Jenisch Museum’s exhibition concentrates on his relationship with music and contains several interesting works, such as a portrait of Pablo Casals dating from 1954.
At th Beyeler Foundation in Basel, at 101 Baselstrasse, Riehen, until 06 january 2008 (www.beyeler.com, tel: +41 61 645 9700), there is an exhibit of the major paintings sold by the well-known collector and art-dealer.
The exhibit contains quantities of work by Cezanne, Gauguin, Kandinsky, Bacons and Giacometti.
Beyeler, who is 86 this year, sold more than 900 of Picasso’s paintings in his lifetime and more than 600 Klee.
The assembly of masterpieces at this exhibition is practically unsurpassable. The exhibit is superbly hung and lit.
In Lausanne, at the Hermitage Museum, there is an exhibit (“Fantin-Latour – “from Reality to Dreams” until Sunday, 28 October 07) of the French painter Henri Fantin-Latour, a hard-to-classify, highly independent painter of the Impressionist period of the latter half of the 19th century. A quondam student of Courbet, he nonetheless dissociated himself from the realistic painting popular with mid-century artists. His very formal work too place mainly within his Paris studios; he rarely found inspiration for his compositions in natural surroundings.
Fondation de l’Hermitage Road: Rte du Signal 2, Lausanne. Phone: +41 (0)21 320 50 01 URL: www.fondation-hermitage.ch
On Thursday, October 18 at 7 pm there will be a lecture at the museum given by Elisabeth Hardouin-Fugier, professeure honoraire, Université Lyon III “Fantin-Latour, peintre de fleur.“
