The von Bartha gallery hosts Bernhard Luginbühl and friends
The works of one of Switzerland’s best known sculptors, and a few of his fellow contemporaries are erected in all their glory at the von Bartha gallery.
If you live in Zürich, there’s probably no doubt that you’ve heard of Bernhard Luginbühl. And if you’ve walked down Mythenquai road you definitely would have seen De Grosse Giraffe (1969) – a great iron sculpture, with its magnificent curved beam looming over Zürich like a watchful sentry.
The sculptures of Bernhard Luginbühl (1929 – 2011) can be seen erected not only in Zürich, but in Hamburg and Muttenz too. He was an expert craftsman – who had a particular penchant for producing sculptures from scrap metal. Aside from Eduardo Chillida, he was one of the first to pioneer the iron sculpture from the 1950s, which is arguably what raised him to prominence in the art world.
A large portion of his earlier work no longer exists – due to Luginbühl destroying or burning some of them. This ‘creative arsony’ rekindled itself in his later work, from the mid 1970s, where he burned several of his wooden structures in ceremonious artistic fashion.
But of particular note were his fascinating collaborations with contemporaries Dieter Roth, Jean Tinguely and Aflred Hofkunst, who feature in this upcoming exhibition. Sculptures like HAUS (1979-94) are comprised of iron and wood, brushes and bone – showcasing his playful yet masterful ability to combine media into something to marvel at.
While some of the collaborative sculptures such as Schluckuck (1978 – 1979) look like condensed, complicated rube-goldberg machines, the exhibition displays some of his solo works too. Expect to witness his ink drawings as well as the fantastically mechanical, yet abstract Kleine Kulturkarrette II (1975) – which is more than just a colourful cabinet on wheels.
Bernhard Luginbühl and Friends will run from 4th September – 24th October 2015 and the preview will be on September 4 from 5-8pm.
Address:
von Bartha, Kannenfeldplatz 6,
4056, Basel, Switzerland
Opening Hours:
Tuesday to Friday 2-6pm, Saturday 11am – 4pm or by appointment.
