Agenda

Resonating Spaces is the title of the exhibition because the works of the artists create a specific quality of spatiality in very varied forms – acoustic, sculpted and drawn. Although different from one another, their works create spaces rather than being perceived as single objects only. They have in common that their visible appearance seems to be unobtrusive, understated, whereas the effect they have is strong and powerful. These works evoke spaces between the identifiable and the elusive. They create sites and respites, in which the capacity of remembering is elicited, and images and memories come to life.

Masks are an ancient, often controversial object of human cultural history. And masks also have a long tradition in the visual arts. But how is the subject being addressed in contemporary art? The exhibition looks into this matter. Interest in masks among contemporary artists focuses not just on the mask as an object but also, and in particular, on its social, cultural and political implications. Between the opposite poles of showing and hiding and in a society in which skilful self-presentation is regarded as an indicator of personal success, the mask is highly topical.

When Switzerland became a travel destination in the 18th century, the foundations were laid for tourism to blossom. That was accompanied by a new kind of image production, one that served to preserve travel memories. In the 1760s, the landscape painter, illustrator and engraver Johann Ludwig Aberli (1723-1786) invented the hand-coloured outline etching, a mixture of print and watercolour. The process became known as the «Aberli Style» and was subsequently emulated by artists such as Heinrich Rieter (1751-1818), who advanced the technique. The prints were expensive souvenirs that were distributed widely across Europe as they fostered the image of the European Arcadia, Switzerland. The Foundation (Stiftung) Familie Fehlmann owns a fascinating collection of these prints in the «Aberli Style». The prints are now on public display for the first time to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of Heinz Fehlmann-Sommers (1919-2015).