The Kunstmuseum Bern owns an important collection of art from the late Middle Ages to the present. The collection exhibition includes selected works from the holdings, presented in changing displays. 

In the basement of the old wing, the central avant-garde trends of modern art are represented with Cubism, Expressionism, Surrealism, and abstract art. Highlights include Violin Hanging on a Wall by Pablo Picasso, Meret Oppenheim’s Enchantment, or Piet Mondrian’s Tableau No. II with Grey and Black. The presentation is complemented by a selection of works by the Bernese artist Adolf Wölfli from the holdings of the Adolf Wölfli Foundation.

On the upper floor of the old wing, one can explore the exhibition Life in Full. Old Masters from Duccio to Liotard, featuring extensive holdings from the museum’s collection dating from the 13th to the 18th century. Highlights include devotional paintings from the Italian Trecento and Quattrocento, finely crafted altarpieces by the Bernese Carnation Masters and Niklaus Manuel, as well as masterpieces of Bernese Baroque art.

On the ground floor of the new wing, the exhibition Panorama Switzerland. From Caspar Wolf to Ferdinand Hodler showcases highlights by 19^th and 20^th century Swiss artists from the collection of the Kunstmuseum Bern. On the upper floor, the exhibition Expressionism Foundation. From Gabriele Münter to Sam Francis presents masterpieces of German and Swiss Expressionism, along with expressive post-war positions, complemented by a selection of neo-expressionist works from the collection. These two exhibitions are included in the general admission to the collection.

The basement of the new wing brings together paintings by famous representatives of Abstract Expressionism – for example Jackson Pollock’s Brown and Silver II and Lee Krasner’s Forest no 2 – with works by concrete and abstract artists such as Sophie Taeuber-Arp or Max Bill.

The 25 outstanding works belonging to Stiftung Expressionismus (Expressionism Foundation), associated with Kunstmuseum Bern, were assembled by Hans Rudolf and Silvia Tschumi, a family from the Bern area. The exhibition marks the first time that the foundation’s collection has been shown in its entirety since its establishment in 2007.

To the exhibition

Adolf Wölfli is considered one of the most important representatives of Art brut. He began drawing, writing and composing at the age of 35 in the Waldau psychiatric clinic near Bern. Since 1975, his extensive estate has been administered by the Adolf Wölfli Foundation, which analyses it scientifically and makes it accessible to the public in publications and exhibitions.The foundation has been housed in the Kunstmuseum Bern since its inception. In this room, it presents various aspects of Wölfli's work in changing presentations.

To the current exhibition

The Collection
Kunstmuseum Bern

Curator: Anne-Christine Strobel

Digital Guide:
Implementation: NETNODE AG
Project: Andriu Deflorin, Cédric Zubler

With the support of:

KUNSTMUSEUM BERN
Hodlerstrasse 8–12, CH-3011 Bern
T +41 (0)31 328 09 44
info@kunstmuseumbern.ch
kunstmuseumbern.ch/TheCollection

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