Complete Guide to Not-to-be-missed Exhibitions and Galleries in French-speaking Switzerland
Introduction
Autumn and winter 2023-2024 in the French-speaking part of Switzerland will be decked out in artistic colors, testifying to the richness and diversity of its cultural panorama. Geneva and Lausanne, two lakeside jewels, stand out as art hubs, where museums and galleries offer exhibitions that cross eras and borders. In these cities, art doesn't just tell stories; it invites dialogue, reflection and wonder.
This autumn-winter, French-speaking Switzerland offers a kaleidoscope of artistic events, ranging from innovative design to historical heritage, contemporary art and applied arts. Each exhibition is a world in itself, presenting works in dialogue with the public, revealing unprecedented aspects of human creativity. These exhibitions are not simply showcases for works of art; they are bridges between past and present, spaces where history meets modernity.
In this article, we invite you to take a journey through the major exhibitions of the season in French-speaking Switzerland. From retrospectives to thematic exhibitions, from historic museums to avant-garde galleries, each event is a chapter in this great book of Swiss art. We explore remarkable exhibitions in Geneva and Lausanne, analyzing their scope and significance, while providing practical information to enrich your cultural experience.
As the days grow shorter and the nights longer, these exhibitions illuminate the cultural horizon of French-speaking Switzerland, promising moments of enrichment, discovery and beauty. Follow us on this artistic journey through the autumn and winter of 2023-2024, a not-to-be-missed journey for all ages.
"Dialogue entre une pieuvre et un presse-agrumes" at mudac, Lausanne
The Musée cantonal de design et d'arts appliqués contemporains de Lausanne, better known as mudac, invites visitors to a singular exhibition, "Dialogue entre une pieuvre et un presse-agrumes". Open from April 7, 2023 to August 11, 2024, this exhibition offers a surprising and offbeat exploration of the museum's collection, from design to contemporary applied arts.
The exhibition brings together contemporary pieces of design, glass art, ceramics, graphic arts and jewelry. It is organized around an audacious scenography on the theme of the labyrinth, where works are juxtaposed by formal, informal or even unusual affinities. This path opens up the field of possibilities, enabling unexpected encounters and cross-fertilizations between artistic disciplines. Pieces such as Mai-Thu Perret's ceramic octopus and Philippe Starck's citrus press sit alongside David Bielander's trompe-l'œil jewelry and Toots Zynsky's glass wire container, inviting visitors to create their own associations and view the works for themselves.
For the first time at mudac, a free audioguide is available, inviting visitors to wander through the collection and grasp the importance of dialogue between works. This initiative enriches the visitor experience, offering additional perspectives on the works on display.
The diversity of objects on display in this exhibition reflects the very essence of mudac, a museum dedicated to contemporary design and applied arts. The mudac collection, comprising over 3,000 works, has been enriched over the years by purchases, donations and long-term deposits. The museum pays particular attention to young local artists, supporting their projects through the purchase of diploma works from ECAL or HEAD - Geneva, underlining its commitment to contemporary creation and the promotion of new talent.
Practical information:
- Adress : mudac, Place de la Cathédrale 6, 1005 Lausanne, Suisse
- Dates : du 7 avril 2023 au 11 août 2024
- Tickets and infos : mudac.ch
"Space is the place" at mudac, Lausanne
Lausanne once again stands out in Switzerland's cultural landscape with the "Space is the place" exhibition at mudac, on view from September 8, 2023 to February 4, 2024. This artistic season offers an immersion into the complex relationships between the cosmos and our planet, bringing together the work of designers, artists, science-fiction authors and other key players in these themes.
The exhibition is divided into two main sections: "Cosmos" and "Terra". "Cosmos" offers an exploration of the Universe from a terrestrial perspective, highlighting designers' and artists' fascination with the laws of universal physics, observable cosmic phenomena and the bewitching beauty of the cosmos. On the other hand, "Terra" invites visitors to reverse their gaze, focusing on the techno-scientific promises of absolute control and manipulation of our planet, a legacy of the Enlightenment intensified by the industrial revolutions and recent geo-engineering.
This artistic season is also enriched by a rich program of public events, offering a variety of formats to delve deeper into the themes addressed. These include events such as "Flat Earth Day", "CTRL Earth", "Tangible Infinity" and "Way Beyond", each exploring different aspects of the relationship between humanity, technology and the cosmos.
"Space is the place" at mudac is therefore much more than an exhibition; it is a profound reflection on our place in the universe, a crossroads where art, science and philosophy meet to unveil new perspectives on our world and beyond. This exhibition represents an important milestone in Lausanne's artistic development, underlining its role as a center of innovation and reflection in the visual arts.
Practical information:
- Adress : mudac, Place de la Cathédrale 6, 1005 Lausanne, Suisse
- Dates : du 8 septembre 2023 au 4 février 2024
- Tickets and infos : mudac.ch
MAMCO Temporary Exhibitions, Autumn-Winter 2023-2024, Geneva
Geneva's Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MAMCO), located on Rue des Vieux-Grenadiers, is offering a series of temporary exhibitions for the autumn-winter 2023-2024 season that examine the foundations of artistic careers and the evolution of artistic practices. These exhibitions, on view from October 17, 2023 to January 28, 2024, offer fascinating insights into the dynamics shaping contemporary art, and how museum institutions record and present these developments.
MAMCO's temporary exhibitions include a retrospective dedicated to Klára Kuchta, as well as a polygraphic ensemble drawn from the museum's collections, including works such as "Récits de collection" and the "Donation Glicksman". In addition, several monographic projects by artists such as Emma Reyes, Shizuko Yoshikawa, Tania Mouraud and Hannah Villiger are presented, shedding light on their unique artistic trajectories. These exhibitions raise key questions about the criteria that guide museum choices and the reasons why certain works and artists manage to stand out in the contemporary art landscape.
MAMCO plays a crucial role in supporting and presenting contemporary art, and these exhibitions demonstrate its commitment to exploring and questioning current artistic practices. Each exhibition offers visitors an opportunity to reflect on the changing nature of art and its role in our society, while celebrating the diversity and richness of contemporary artistic creation.
Informations pratiques :
- Adress : MAMCO, Rue des Vieux-Grenadiers 10, 1205 Genève
- Dates : du 17 octobre 2023 au 28 janvier 2024
- Price : 15 CHF (normal), 10 CHF (réduit), gratuit pour les moins de 18 ans, étudiants, chômeurs et personnes bénéficiant de l'AI
- Contact and infos : Téléphone +41 22 320 61 22, Email [email protected], Site web du MAMCO.
"Scarifications Miquel Barceló & le musée Barbier-Mueller", Genève
The "Scarifications" exhibition, presented at the Barbier-Mueller Museum in Geneva from October 12, 2023 to April 21, 2024, is a fascinating encounter between contemporary art and history. Born of an idea shared in 2008 by artist Miquel Barceló, Monique and Jean Paul Barbier-Mueller, and former museum director Laurence Mattet, this exhibition explores the theme of scarification, a powerful subject evocative of indelible marks.
Miquel Barceló has selected his works to resonate with the Barbier-Mueller museum's choices, creating a synergy between his contemporary creations and the museum's historic pieces. The artist treats his works as flesh, which he scratches, deforms, tears, pricks and discolors. The "skins" of Senufo anthropomorphic statuettes, Baule masks and Benin kingdom pendants, among others, undergo similar procedures. These actions of marking and transformation are expressions of artistic or ritual practices, combining creative gestures with signs of ownership and traces with prophylactic, therapeutic, aesthetic or even erotic properties.
The exhibition thus offers a visual dialogue between tradition and modernity, where Barceló's art and the museum's collections interweave to tell stories of transformation, passage and metamorphosis. It is a convergence of multiple visual experiences, where the old and the new meet to form a coherent and captivating narrative.
Practical information:
- Adress : Musée Barbier-Mueller, rue Jean-Calvin, 10 - 1204 Genève
- Schedule : Everyday from 11am to 17pm
- Contact : Tél. +41 22 312 02 70
- more infos : Site web du Musée Barbier-Mueller.
"Charlotte Hodes" at Musée Ariana - Musée suisse de la céramique et du verre, Geneva
The Musée Ariana in Geneva, dedicated to ceramics and glass, is hosting the exhibition "Conversations en plein air" by artist Charlotte Hodes from November 3, 2023 to May 5, 2024. This exhibition showcases the unique work of Charlotte Hodes, a British artist internationally recognized for her innovative fusion of fine and applied arts. Trained as a painter, Hodes has been using ceramic tableware as canvas since the 1990s, incorporating collage and printing techniques inspired by her research into transfer prints at the Spode factory in Stoke-on-Trent.
The exhibition offers a playful analogy between the French pictorial tradition of 18th-century "Fêtes galantes" and contemporary outdoor social gatherings, notably those experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hodes' works are characterized by female figures calling out to each other across different mediums, creating open-ended narrative sequences in pattern-rich environments. This new series of vases, cut-paper friezes and a large installation of tableware invites viewers to join in these symbolic conversations, gathered on a picnic blanket.
The exhibition at Musée Ariana represents not only a tribute to the tradition of ceramics, but also a contemporary exploration of how art can connect people and times. Hodes' works, with their blend of traditional and modern techniques, meticulous detail and bold motifs, are a testament to the ongoing evolution of ceramic art and offer a refreshing insight into the medium's creative potential.
Practical information:
- Adress : Musée Ariana, Avenue de la Paix 10, 1202 Genève, Suisse
- Dates : 3 novembre 2023 - 5 mai 2024
- More infos : Site web de l'exposition.
Biennale de l’Image en Mouvement 2024, Centre d’Art Contemporain Genève
The Biennale de l'Image en Mouvement 2024 (BIM'24), to be held from January 24 to May 16, 2024 at the Centre d'Art Contemporain Genève, promises a bold exploration of the world of the moving image. This edition, co-curated by Nora N. Khan and Andrea Bellini, director of the Centre, selects artists creating new works to premiere in Geneva. Artists include Basel Abbas & Ruanne Abou-Rahme, Alfatih, American Artist, Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley and many others, each bringing a unique perspective on contemporary art and technology.
BIM'24 focuses on the impact of technocratic values on creativity and explores methods of resisting the spectacular nature of digital futures. The biennial examines how images, captured and processed by machine learning and algorithmic surveillance systems, shape our reality. These images, essential to algorithmic practice, acquire a life of their own, creating their own contexts and worlds, influenced by artificial intelligence.
The works presented invite viewers to contemplate these invisible, operational images that are changing our visual culture. The artists at BIM'24 challenge traditional art paradigms and suggest new ways of looking at the invisible. They use a variety of tools, from powerful archives driven by machine learning to simple handmade computers
Practical information:
- Adress : Centre d’Art Contemporain Genève, Rue des Vieux-Grenadiers 10, 1205 Genève
- Dates : du 24 janvier au 16 mai 2024
- Contact : T + 41 22 329 18 42
- More infos : Site web de la Biennale.
This biennial promises to be a key event for lovers of contemporary art and technology, offering a unique insight into moving images and their role in our modern, ever-changing society.
Conclusion
Autumn and winter 2023-2024 in French-speaking Switzerland reveal a rich and diverse artistic panorama. The exhibitions presented in Geneva and Lausanne, from innovative works at the Biennale de l'Image en Mouvement to sculptural dialogues at the Musée Ariana, offer an in-depth exploration of contemporary art. These art spaces, like living galleries, invite us to take a journey through time and creativity, enriching our perception and understanding of the artistic world.
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