Agenda

The exhibition shows works of art which present different aspects of the (night) life which made the French capital world-famous between the 1890s and 1950s. The works illustrate different themes: the world of cabarets, fashion, leisure and literature. Works by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Félix Vallotton, Marc Chagall, Henri Matisse, Raoul Dufy and Kees van Dongen are among those shown. Kees van Dongen is even represented by his series of illustrations for the reprint of Marcel Proust’s A la Recherche du temps perdu (Gallimard 1947). Raoul Dufy (represented by forty of his works) is the artist of the most impressive work of art at the exhibition by a lithographic reproduction of the Electricity Fairy (la Fée Electricité). He made this mural painting (now housed in the Musée d’art moderne de la Ville de Paris) to decorate the Electricity and Light Pavilion at the 1937 Paris World’s Fair. This monumental work shows the greatest scientists in history, gathered on either side of the Olympus and Pantheon of the Greco-Roman Antiquity, whose messenger the Electricity Fairy is.

Water is an essential element for the planet and its flora and fauna, including humanity. But what do we know about water? The exhibition (Eau, L’expo) is divided into three themes: water and life, water and people and water and society. Besides, a separate section focuses on water in the Jura and Switzerland. The exhibition presents water from its cosmic origins, its development on earth, its omnipresence and its many appearances, its indispensable role in the evolution of life and the need of sustainable maintenance of this source of life.

Using everyday materials, Marlene McCarty (1957)  makes art upon  examination and research of topical themes ranging from social and sexual inequality or the role of women. In addition to works of art from recent years, the exhibition (Into the Weeds) will also present a new project in cooperation with the Merian Gärten (The Merian Gardens), an institution of the Christoph Merian Stiftung (Christoph Merian Foundation) in Basel. At first glance, the garden at the entrance to the Kunsthaus seems familiar and inviting. The interplay between humans (women) and nature is the central theme, however. This garden brings together plants that, according to the artist and her historical research, symbolize and stand for the emancipation, power and knowledge of women. A team of the Merian Gardens has developed the garden.