Agenda

Chickens are among the most widespread domesticated animals in the world. There are more than twice as many of them as there are humans. Nevertheless, the knowledge about these animals is limited, due to the fact that chickens are mainly considered as consumer goods, without any biological or evolutionary identity. They can’t even sing like other birds.

The exhibition Chicken – Erbe der Dinosaurier (Chicken – legacy of the dinosaurs) illustrates the complex biology and evolutionary history of chickens. Chickens are more than just food: they are interesting and diverse animals. They are the result of an evolutionary process that began with dinosaurs and culminated in a variety of human-influenced forms through the process of domestication.

For centuries, Switzerland has been a country of emigration. Many people fled poverty; some were seeking adventure or business opportunities, still others were coerced into leaving their home or worked as missionaires or NGO’s.

Around 11% of Swiss citizens (around 800 000)  live abroad today. This group is also referred to as ‘the fifth Switzerland’. They become a much more visible community especially in the lead-up to voting in any referenda. Most of them live in Europe.

The Auslandschweizer-Organisation (ASO)/ Organisation des Suisses de l’étranger (OSE) represents their interests vis-à-vis the Swiss authorities and parliament (see also: www.swisscommunity.org).

The exhibition (Leaving Switserland. Emigration stories after 1848) explores the day-to-day realities of emigrant life, the success stories of the few, and the ordinary life of the many. The Guggenheims, for example, emigrated to the USA in the 19th century and became one of the richest families in the country or the brothers Samuel and Johann Berger, who emigrated to Russia in 1874 and became successful cheesemakers. The history of the hoteliers, pastrycooks and confectioners from Graubünden is relatively well known.

The exhibition gives a good insight into the motives and facts of the emigration from 1848 onwards.

Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (1609-1664), also known as ‘Il Grechetto’,  was an Italian draughtsman and pioneering experimenter in graphic art and printmaking.

This innovative master, whose graphic works bear the influence of Rembrandt van Rhijn (1606-1669), invented the monotype technique in the 17th century. His painterly brush drawings in oils were an important source of inspiration for other artists.

He embodies everything that makes the Baroque so fascinating: its celebration of the artistic brilliance, opulent magnificence and a striving to enrapture the viewer’s senses.

The exhibition of some 80 works is the first monographic presentation of Castiglione’s graphic oeuvre in a German-speaking country.

Concrete is everywhere. Today, concrete is the most widely used building material on earth. Yet increasing awareness of its significant ecological impact has made clear that the status quo of building in concrete is no longer tenable.

The exhibition (“Beton”)presents nine ways of understanding concrete, bringing together, among others, original drawings, models, and photographs from the three main architecture archives in Switzerland in order to illuminate this complex and critical material.

The historical scope of the exhibition is complemented by the public events program, which focuses on the use of this material today and opens the discussion on its possible futures.

The museum will organise a cycle of exhibitions devoted to the body and corporeality in the coming years. The first exhibition is on religious iconography. It shows the body as glorious, suffering or discouraged.

The body is also a tool for communicating with the sacred and saints: man strengthens his link with the spiritual sphere through rituals, clothing, and gestures.

To extend these themes to the 21st century, the exhibited works and artefacts from the religious heritage dialogue with contemporary art, revealing their continuity and changes.

The first privately owned collection of posters presented by the gallery owner Werner Röthlisberger is an expression of his passion for this art, particularly from Pablo Picasso (1881-1973).

The exhibition shows a selection of 55 original posters by Picasso from his collection of 250 . It is one of the world´s most complete collections of posters from Picasso.

Picasso worked intensively with all graphic techniques and experimented with different printing processes such as woodcut, linocut, copper engraving and lithography.

Like many artists of his time, he was intensely involved in printmaking, especially after the end of the Second World War.

We urgently need to rethink our relationship with nature. Plants play a central role here, inspiring designers, scientists, and engineers to devise innovative solutions to current environmental and social issues.

The exhibition Plants Fever  presents around 50 international projects from the fields of product design, fashion and new technologies and explores the hidden potential of plants.

The exhibition «animalistic! Snake, cod liver oil and cortisone – from animals to active pharmaceutical ingredients.» investigates the use of animals as drugs, active ingredients of pharmaceuticals and symbol in the history of pharmacy up to the present day.

The exhibition (tierisch ! Vom Tier zum Wirkstoff) is the fourth of four events in different museums, see also www.tierischbasel.ch.

Tomi Ungerer (1931-2019) is one of the most prominent and provocative illustrators of our time. His oeuvre includes more than 40,000 drawings, oil paintings, poster designs, collages, lithographs, woodcuts and objects.

In addition, his 140 books range from social satire to fairy tales, including modern children’s book classics such as “The Three Robbers” (Die drei Räuber) or “The Moon Man” (Der Mondmann).

The exhibition, which can draw on the rich stock of 250 works by Tomi Ungerer in the Würth collection, offers a cross-section of the contents of the artist’s oeuvre, which is as profound as it is entertaining.

On the occasion of the 150th birthday of the artist Werner Büchly (1871-1942), the Icon Museum in Lenzburg focuses on his great pictorial historical, religious and cultural themes.

Among his most important works are those on the Angelrain Schoolhouse in Lenzburg and the Pestalozzi Schoolhouse in Birr (1906), in the crematoriums in Aarau and Zurich, in the Vindonissa Museum in Brugg or in the parish church in Othmarsingen.

The almost forgotten artist left an impressive oeuvre. His apostles, heroes, gods, scientists and other personalities decorate the halls and facades of schools and other educational institutions, churches, government buildings and villas.

His representations in the exhibition (Helden und Propheten) also depict the great philosophical and religious questions.