Our roundup of the best Swiss Good News from the past month
And just like that, it’s September. Time has flown! The leaves are slowly turning and we’re clinging on to the last days of summer. We’re channeling our artistic side this month, and Switzerland is as well:
Boosting Art at Art Basel
One of the world’s most famous international art fairs, Art Basel Switzerland finally took place last weekend. Postponed from June, the organizers created a 1.5 CHF million onetime solidarity fund to mitigate the financial risk of participation. Every gallery (a total of 272 exhibitors) had the option to benefit from the fund if they choose to do so. According to Art Basel global director, Marc Spiegler, “I’d like to think that the increased collegiality and cooperation that we’ve seen in the pandemic will lead to galleries being willing to pass that reduction on to their colleagues who need it.” To learn more, visit Artnet.com.
Upcoming: Four Renowned Local Artists Showcase in Lausanne
Connus & Inconnus (the known and the unknown) is a beautiful exhibit bringing 4 painters with varying styles and mediums under one roof from 1st to 3rd October. Mixt Villars, Nicole Bovard, Annette Pasquier and Hélia Aluai have exhibited locally and internationally and are an eclectic mix of paint, illustration, and drawing. We highly recommend popping by (St Andrew’s House, 26 Avenue Rumine, 1005 Lausanne) for what will be a beautiful and fascinating display.
And Finally… A Stunning Swiss Landscape with a Complicated Past
Swiss artist Alexandre Calame was the most important 19th-century Swiss painter of the Alps. Many of his landscapes are of the area around Lake Lucerne, which is overlooked by Mount Rigi. “Chalets at Rigi” from 1861 was likely acquired from a Jewish victim during the war. It was later purchased as part of Hitler’s planned Führermuseum. Recovered by US troops in an Austrian salt mine at the end of the war, the work was eventually entrusted to the Austrian authorities. After no one came forward to claim the work, it was auctioned off by Christie’s in 1996, with all proceeds going to benefit victims of the Holocaust. The painting is currently exhibited at London’s National Gallery.
