Kunstmuseum Bern

Rectangle and Square - From Picasso to Judd

14 Sep 2011 - 08 Jan 2012

Vaclav Pozarek
Red Risk, 1986
Holz, bemalt, Schrauben (2-teilig)
81,3 x 57,5 x 78,2 cm; Rundstab: L: 50,8 cm, D: 4,9 cm div. Teile
Kunstmuseum Bern,
Hermann und Margrit Rupf-Stiftung
© Der Künstler
RECTANGLE AND SQUARE - FROM PICASSO TO JUDD
Rupf Foundation Acquisitions
14 September, 2011 - 08 January, 2012

At the beginning of the 20th century, Hermann and Margrit Rupf laid the foundations for a collection now seen as one of the leading of its kind for European modern art. Not only the vast number of high-profile artworks makes this collection remarkable but also the fact that Hermann Rupf acquired the majority of them in the same year they were executed. Because a foundation was established in the Kunstmuseum Bern in the 1950s, the collection is open to the public and, right up to the present, being constantly enlarged. The exhibition “Rectangle and Square”. From Picasso to Judd – Rupf Foundation Acquisitions will, for the first time, give a comprehensive view of the acquisitions accumulated by the foundation since it was established.


The foundation focused – like the collector couple had previously done – especially on purchasing contemporary art. Today its holdings reflect not only a fascinating overview of one hundred years of art history but also display the preferences of the private collection.

Besides key groups of works by Picasso, Braque, Klee, or Kandinsky, the foundation holdings also include superb minimal, concrete, and Group Zero art, as well as work by esteemed individual artists such as Markus Rätz and Meret Oppenheim.

A group of artworks by the conceptual artist Vaclav Pozarek (resident in Bern) and by Florian Slotawa is among the foundation’s most recent acquisitions. Both artists explore art concepts and strategies foregrounding the object and space, thereby presenting a compelling sequel to Hermann Rupf’s emphasis on collecting cubist art.
 

Tags: Wassily Kandinsky, Meret Oppenheim, Pablo Picasso, Florian Slotawa