Staging one's own life
The Autobiographical in Contemporary Art
The exhibition Ego Documents is presenting contemporary art by artists who have made their own life the theme of their work. We will be showing autobiographical video films, photographs, prints, drawings, installations, paintings and a slide show. Salient points are the various strategies for dealing with autobiographical material ranging from self-documentation to the cultivation of the individual image. Ego Documents is Kathleen Bühler's first exhibition as curator of the contemporary art department.
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Fantastic Prophet of Contemporary Art
«Im full of Byars». James Lee Byars - A Homage
James Lee Byars (1932 Detroit - 1997 Cairo) was one of the most extraordinary artist personalities of the twentieth century. The Museum of Fine Arts Bern is devoting an exhibition to a comprehensive show of works by this American artist. They will be exhibiting sculptures, objects, works on paper and film documentaries of his performances. Even today, Byars' works have lost nothing of their mystery and poetry.
Media ReleaseThe building extension becomes a reality
Department of Contemporary Art in the Museum of Fine Arts Bern
The foundation council of the Museum of Fine Arts Bern has decided to carry out the reworked construction project SCALA by the architects Baserga / Mozzetti from Ticino. The foundation of the Museum of Fine Arts Bern and the foundation GegenwART under the patronage of Dr. h.c. Hansjörg Wyss have given their approval for the submission of a general planning application.
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Mysterious shapes of color
form, color, illumination - Suzan Frecon painting
The American artist Suzan Frecon (*1941) has dedicated herself to the endeavor of painting over the past four decades. She feels that the ultimate achievement of her paintings would be the experience that they could cause to the viewer. The exhibition has been installed together with the artist and is a collaboration with the Menil Collection in Houston. After having been represented in group exhibitions at the Museum of Fine Arts Bern in 1990 and 1994, Suzan Frecon's painterly œuvre of the last ten years is currently shown in a concentrated overview.
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Hodler's oeuvre in an unparalleled overview
Ferdinand Hodler - A Symbolist Vision
The Museum of Fine Arts Bern is showing one of the most important and comprehensive Hodler exhibitions comprising over 150 major works from all periods. The exhibition was arranged in collaboration with the Museum of Visual Arts Budapest and offers the viewer a unique overview of Hodler's oeuvre while clearly establishing the international significance of this Swiss painter. His large symbolist figure paintings are shown alternating with his best landscapes. The exhibition is rounded out with Hodler's group of works dealing with the dying and death of his mistress Valentine Godé-Darel and with a selection of self-portraits.
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Outsider Art with World Renown
Adolf Wölfli Universe. A Retrospective/The Sky is Blue. Works from the Morgenthaler Collection, Waldau
With works by Adolf Wölfli and also from the Morgenthaler Collection, «Outsider Art» is visiting the Museum of Fine Arts Bern with two exhibitions. Rejected and forgotten by society, behind the high institutional walls of the Waldau Psychiatric Clinic near Bern, patients created works that are appealing and troubling at the same time.
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The cosmos of contemporary painting
There is Desire Left (Knock, Knock). 40 Years of Fine Arts from the Mondstudio Collection
The Mondstudio Collection has an international reputation as one of the most important collections of contemporary painting. Without following fashionable trends, it collects painting styles from the middle of the 20th century until the present. Andy Warhol, Robert Ryman, Gerhard Richter - these are only a few of the prominent names and fixed stars in the universe of painting that can be seen in the exhibition.
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