A new exhibit at the Swiss Consulate in New York City highlights a different side of Switzerland, emphasizing its cultural and architectural sophistication
What started as a video project by artist Paul Clemence and Aksel Stasny has now been turned into an exhibit featuring both the videos and photography taken by Clemence while making the videos. On display are photos of some of Switzerland’s top art museums, like the Beyeler Foundation (by Renzo Piano Building Workshop), Museum Tinguely by (Mario Botta), Zentrum Paul Klee (also by RPBW) and the recently expanded Kunstmuseum Basel (by Christ & Gantenebein).
Located across Switzerland, the museums depicted by Clemence emphasize the unique beauty of the varied landscapes. This symbiosis between nature and architecture threads through the entire exhibition. The images feature a combination of structural details as well as exteriors and interiors that interplay with their natural surroundings and expressing how the mere detail relates to the whole with an emphasis on precision, aesthetics and harmony. Adding an extra layer to the architectural depiction, some of the photos were printed directly on aluminum diebond by specialty printer WhiteWall, the brushed aluminum texture emphasizing the building materials.
“It was very inspiring to see how each designer applied their concepts to not only creating a house for the art being shown, but also translating the feel of the institution they were designing for and the surrounding context”, says Clemence of the experience. “And they all manage to achieve this with a sensibility, aesthetic and craftmanship that is undeniably very Swiss: subtle, yet of very high and exacting standards”.
The exhibit was curated by Elena Bänninger and Lisette Müry and is a special edition of the exhibition series Art@Consulate which showcases the work of Swiss artists living in the United States. Past exhibitions include paintings by Chrissy Angliker, photography by Reto Sterchi, poster design by Julian Bittiner and Stéphane Rodriguez as well as sculptural works by Regi Müller.
The exhibition opens June 6 at the Consulate General of Switzerland, 633 3rd Avenue in New York.
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