Matthias Frehner

Bernhard Fibicher

China is booming! In the wake of economic liberalization, the nation's art scene has taken flight as well. The Swiss collector Uli Sigg, formerly his country's ambassador to Beijing, has followed the rapid pace of development since the 1980s, compiling along the way the world's largest collection of contemporary Chinese art, comprising more than 1,200 works by some 180 artists. Mahjong, named after the popular and ancient Chinese game of chance, presents more than 200 paintings, drawings, sculptures, photographs, video pieces and installations from Sigg's collection. Alongside them hang such curiosities as vintage Mao posters. In addition to a number of internationally famous works, such as Ai Weiwei's Han vase with Coca-Cola logo, Fang Lijun's bald heads or Xu Bing's "Xinglish" calligraphy, this book also offers readers a unique opportunity to discover tremendously gifted artists still largely unknown outside China.

麻å°

Regula Berger

Rainer Lawicki

Alexandra Hanzl

Die Fürsten von Liechtenstein waren passionierte Kunstliebhaber. Ab dem 17. Jahrhundert wuchsen die Sammlungen mit jeder Generation weiter, und aufgrund der individuellen Vorlieben entstand eine große Vielfalt an thematischen Schwerpunkten. Der Katalog bietet einen repräsentativen Querschnitt durch die immensen Schätze des Fürstenhauses. Die verschiedenen Sammlungsbereiche umfassen Meisterwerke europäischer Kunst aus fünf Jahrhunderten; der Themenreigen erstreckt sich von mythologischen und religiösen Sujets über Interieur-Szenen bis hin zu Landschaften, Porträts und Stillleben. Neben den etwa 1700 Gemälden finden sich u. a. auch ausgewählte italienische Bronzen, atemberaubende Tapisserien, Interieurs und erlesene kunsthandwerkliche Arbeiten. Die Präsentation der Objekte ist eingebettet in die sich über Jahrhunderte erstreckende Sammlungsgeschichte sowie die sich wandelnden Präsentationsorte und -konzepte - so erschließt sich der Charakter dieser einzigartigen Familiensammlung. - Diese Publikation erscheint anlässlich der Ausstellung Kunstmuseum Bern, 12. November 2016 bis 19. März 2017.

die fürstlichen Sammlungen

Liechtenstein

Klaus Albrecht Schröder

Between 1905 and 1935, the Swiss art collectors Arthur and Hedy Hahnloser-Bühler amassed at their home in Villa Flora, Winterthur, a notable collection of paintings by post-impressionist masters, including Cézanne, Matisse, Hodler. Today, the Hahnloser Collection, is part of the collections of the art museums of Bern and Winterthur and is world renowned for its high artistic quality and its notable works by leading figures, many of whom became close friends of the Hahnlosers. This catalog of extraordinary works from the collection includes work from Swiss and French modernist painters, including 120 color illustrations by such artists as Ferdinand Hodler, Félix Vallotton, Pierre Bonnard, Edouard Vuillard, Odilon Redon, and Henri Matisse, in addition to Van Gogh, Cézanne, Renoir and Toulouse-Lautrec. Alongside the artworks is a text that provides unique insight into the unknown aspects of the lives and creative work of these artists in the early twentieth century and sheds light on the passions and motivations of the collectors.

The Hahnloser Collection

Van Gogh, Cézanne, Matisse, Hodler

Daniel Spanke

Kunstmuseum Bern, the oldest museum in Switzerland, turns its gaze toward its own acquisition history in this lavish book that features artistic masterpieces considered worthless by the Nazis, and the stories of how they came to Switzerland. As a result of the Nazi regime s scorn for modern art, virtually all non-traditional art between 1933 and 1945 was banned in Germany on the grounds that it was un-German, Jewish, or Communist in nature. Those identified as degenerate artists were dismissed from teaching positions and forbidden to exhibit or to sell their works. This book sheds light on the historical significance and provenance of nearly 525 works by modernist greats, such as Picasso, Chagall, and Kandinsky, which were acquired by the Kunstmuseum Bern through a combination of auctions and private donations. The book traces the fates of artists who suffered under the Nazi regime and who had connections to Switzerland, including Kirchner, Klee and Dix, and contrasts the cultural policies of the Third Reich with those of Switzerland in the same period. Finally, it details the dramatic events and unprecedented efforts that went into preserving invaluable works of art."

Matthias Frehner

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