Groups and Spots. Contemporary Art at Baloise

Following the publication of a book on the Sammlung Baloise Group last year, the works themselves will now be on display in our museum’s large-scale exhibition. For the first time, a selection of over 250 examples of contemporary photography and works on paper by more than 40 artists from Switzerland and abroad will be shown.

With works by
Mathieu Kleyebe Abonnenc, Silvia Bächli, Stephan Balkenhol, Sara Cwynar, Keren Cytter, Marlene Dumas, Andreas Eriksson, Elger Esser, Karsten Födinger, Luke Fowler, Pia Fries, Ryan Gander, Geert Goiris, Joanne Greenbaum, Naoya Hatakeyama, Candida Höfer, Teresa Hubbard / Alexander Birchler, Alain Huck, Susanne Kriemann, Zilla Leutenegger, Claudia & Julia Müller, Bruce Nauman, Laura Owens, Peter Piller, John Pilson, Mary Reid Kelley, Thomas Ruff, Thomas Schütte, Ross Sinclair, Lucy Skaer, John Skoog, Jenni Tischer, Luc Tuymans, Marcel van Eeden, Inez van Lamsweerde, Ulla von Brandenburg, Amelie von Wulffen, Kemang Wa Lehulere, Stephen Waddell, Jeff Wall, Heimo Zobernig

According to a newly defined concept, the collection has concentrated on works on paper since 1985, and in the early 1990s, the field of pictorial photography was added as an equal partner. From the outset, the aim was not to acquire individual works but rather groups by contemporary artists in order to present a representative survey of their oeuvres. The exhibition at the Museum Franz Gertsch not only takes these aspects into consideration in its title but also in its structure. Borrowed from a cycle by the artists Claudia & Julia Müller, ‘Groups and Spots’ designates a selection that highlights both groups of works as well as individual pieces as well as shedding light on both works on paper and photographs by means of exciting constellations.

The exhibition extends over three gallery spaces: the first room is dedicated to the collection’s focus on photography, while the second deals with different forms of interaction between artists and the Baloise as an insurance company and building contractor. The third and largest of the spaces provides insights into the rich diversity of the collection’s works on paper.

After the first purchases of paintings by Basel artists in the late 1940s, the Sammlung Baloise Group now features more than 1’500 works. Thanks to this long tradition, Baloise’s relationship with art is well known and firmly established both among its employees, who encounter it on a daily basis in their working environment and are also involved in the acquisition process via an art commission, and among the general public. Since 1999, the Baloise Art Prize has been awarded annually at Art Basel to two young artists and the exhibitions at the Baloise Art Forum in the company’s Basel new headquarters designed by Diener & Diener are freely accessible to the public. And now, following the publication of the catalogue of the company collection, the first museum exhibition is taking place in Burgdorf.

The exhibition was curated by Anna Wesle, Martin Schwander and Beat Wismer.

Catalogue: «Into the Spotlight. Art at Baloise», ed. by Martin Schwander on behalf of Baloise, Berlin: Hatje Cantz, 2020.
ISBN 978-3-7757-4672-4 (English)

For more information please visit Museum Franz Gertsch.