Fondation Beyeler

In the 9th episode of "Das Dingsda im Museum", grandma Kerstin and grandson Dries explore Gerhard Richter's artwork "12 Scheiben". With every movement around the large installation, new perspectives open up for Kerstin and Dries. Gerhard Richter's work tempts them to take a closer look at the wonderful reflections of the other masterpieces in the room. They both enjoy the simplicity of the glass installation, which however can emerge wonderfully complex and abstract images. However, grandma and grandson do not quite agree on whether this is art or not. Would you like to get to know our collection better? Then you too can borrow the game for the series free of charge from the Art Shop of the Fondation Beyeler on your next visit. The educational series, which promotes exchange and discussion about art between generations, is produced in collaboration with our partner @blkb_ch . — In der 9. Folge von «Das Dingsda im Museum» erkunden Oma Kerstin und Enkel Dries Gerhard Richters Kunstwerk «12 Scheiben». Mit jeder Bewegung um die grossformatige Installation herum, tun sich für Kerstin und Dries neue Perspektiven auf. Gerhard Richters Kunstwerk verleitet die beiden dazu, sich darin die wundervollen Spiegelungen der anderen Meisterwerke im Raum näher anzuschauen. Beide erfreuen sich an der Einfachheit der gläsernen Installation, die aber ganz wunderbar komplexe und abstrakte Bilder zaubern kann. Ob es sich hierbei um Kunst handelt – da sind sich Oma und Enkel jedoch nicht ganz einig. Haben sie auch Lust bekommen, unsere Sammlungswerke besser kennenzulernen? Dann leihen auch Sie sich das Spiel zur Serie bei Ihrem nächsten Besuch kostenlos im Art Shop der Fondation Beyeler aus. Das «Dingsda im Museum», das den Austausch und die Diskussion über Kunst zwischen den Generationen fördert, wird in Zusammenarbeit mit unserem Partner @blkb_ch produziert. #FondationBeyeler #blkb #CollectionBeyeler #BeyelerRichter Credit: Gerhard Richter, 12 Scheiben (Reihe), 2013, Glas und Stahlkonstruktion. Fondation Beyeler, Riehen/Basel, Filmproduktion: @biggerpicturegmbh & @mara_truog

Recognize him? The catalogue for the current exhibition "Mondrian Evolution" comes across as multi-layered as the Dutch artist Piet Mondrian and his art themselves. The talented hands of renowned book designer @irma_boom_amsterdam created the design of this exclusive catalogue. Mondrian's impressive transformation from a 19th-century landscape painter to one of the leading protagonists of modernism, is reflected in the portraits of the Dutch artist that Irma Boom used for the book cover: The different views of his faces in several phases of his life reflect the complexity of the painter and his expression in his art. The latter reveals the stimulating text contributions of various Mondrian experts and the high-quality illustrations in the catalogue. Immerse yourself into Piet Mondrian's world of art with the exhibition catalogue for "Mondrian Evolution" and get one of the stylish copies in German or English from our Art Shop at Fondation Beyeler. @hatjecantzverlag #FondationBeyeler #BeyelerMondrian #BeyelerCatalogue #IrmaBoom #MondrianCatalogue #MondrianEvolution Animation: @raffinerie_ag

Are these two works from the same artist? If you contrast this early work “Woman with Spindle”, with one of Mondrian’s abstract paintings from the 1930s, you realize how far he evolved – from a typical 19th century realist painter to a leading proponent of modernism. His trademark “neoplasticist” style only evolved when he was already in his late 40s. Although he was adamant, that it developed because of a process of abstraction from nature. If you look closely, you will already find the signs of Mondrian’s structuring of space and plane in this earliest work of the exhibition "Mondrian Evolution": Not only the geometric grid of the tiles in the background of the elderly woman, but also the composition of the picture, reduced to its structure, would resemble Mondrian's abstract works. Therefore, Mondrian's reduction and concentration on the essential elements of the image may be seen as an approach to absolute objectivity. Explore Mondrian’s transformation in the cool exhibition rooms at Fondation Beyeler! Tickets are available at online. [Link in bio] #FondationBeyeler #BeyelerMondrian #MondrianEvolution #MondrianAnimation #PietMondrian #AbstractArt #Mondrian Credits: Reproduced works by Piet Mondrian: © 2022 Mondrian/Holtzman Trust., Frau mit Spindel Um 1893–1896 Öl auf Leinwand 36,8 × 29,8 cm Courtesy Pace Gallery,Komposition mit Schwarz und Weiss, mit Doppellinien, 1934 Öl auf Leinwand 59,4 × 60,3 cm Privatsammlung, Schweiz, Animation: @raffinerie_ag

“Eidinger meets Mondrian” Follow actor Lars Eidinger and curator Ulf Küster on an inspiring tour through the current exhibition "Mondrian Evolution". Their conversation comes in the wake of the short film “Piet & Mondrian”, accompanying the exhibition and in which Eidinger stars as both Piet and Mondrian. The film takes as its starting point Mondrian’s 1919/1920 essay “Natural Reality and Abstract Reality”, in which he formulated foundational thoughts and considerations on abstraction in art. Find out more about the actor’s and the curator’s thoughts and considerations on Mondrian’s art in the video. [in German] Let us know your thoughts on the current exhibition. “Mondrian Evolution” is still on show until October 9. Exhibition tours are available daily. #FondationBeyeler #BeyelerMondrian #MondrianEvolution #BeyelerEidinger #LarsEidinger #PietMondrian #Mondrian Video: @artbeatsberlin Reproduced works by Piet Mondrian: © 2022 Mondrian/Holtzman Trust. [more in comments] For full photographic credits, please see fondationbeyeler.ch/mondrian/saalheft Photo: @patigrabowicz

In the second season of “Das Dingsda im Museum”, Lilla and godmother Nuria encounter Henri Rousseau's hungry lion in the museum. Lilla and Nuria are both fascinated and surprised by the paintings beauty and the scenes cruelty. Did you know, Rousseau only had second-hand knowledge of the world’s exotic regions and therefore modelled his animals and plants from magazines and photos? In this new episode, find out what other mysterious animals Lilla and Nuria discover in the picture. The educational series, which promotes exchange and discussion about art between generations, is produced in collaboration with our partner @blkb_ch . With the “Das Dingsda im Museum” game, the artwork with the long title “Le lion, ayant faim, se jette sur l'antilope” can be explored based on fun questions. Borrow the game free of charge at the Art Shop of Fondation Beyeler on your next visit and discover works from our collection. #FondationBeyeler #blkb #CollectionBeyeler #BeyelerRousseau Credit : Henri Rousseau, Le lion, ayant faim, se jette sur l'antilope, 1898/1905, oil on canvas, Fondation Beyeler, Riehen/Basel, Collection Beyeler, filmproduction: @biggerpicturegmbh & @mara_truog

Piet Mondrian’s artistic development took surprising twists and turns. He started out as a landscape painter in the style of the late 19th century just to undergo what he himself described as an “evolution” into the painter of radically abstract picture compositions for which he is mainly famous today. There do remain similarities in his works however, as exemplified here. The landscape “Bosch (Wald); Wald bei Oele” from 1908 is characterized by pine trees, as they can be seen in the backlight of the evening sun. The illusion of space is created by the tree trunks, which appear staggered one behind the other in red and violet, as the light flows through them. The work "New York City 1" from 1941 shows a similar constellation, only here Mondrian has already abandoned the coloured surfaces in favour of coloured lines. The latter are dynamically laid out as paper stripes in the primary colours and form an important testimony to Mondrian's later working method: Any reference to the real landscape situation was abandoned and New York, Mondrian's last home, is already depicted "purely abstract" and only comprehensible as Mondrian's experience of the dynamic city. See “Mondrian Evolution” at Fondation Beyeler until October 9. Tickets are available online. [Link in bio] #FondationBeyeler #BeyelerMondrian #MondrianEvolution #PietMondrian #AbstractArt Credit: Piet Mondrian, New York City 1, 1941, Öl und Papier auf Leinwand, 120 × 115,2 cm, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf, © 2022 Mondrian/Holtzman Trust, Foto: Walter Klein, Düsseldorf, Piet Mondrian, Bosch, (Wald); Wald bei Oele, 1908, Öl auf Leinwand, 128 × 158 cm, Kunstmuseum Den Haag, Niederlande, Vermächtnis Salomon B. Slijper, © 2022 Mondrian/Holtzman Trust, Foto: Kunstmuseum Den Haag, Animation: @raffinerie_ag

Did you know that Piet Mondrian tried his hands at writing as well?   The current exhibition ends with a screening of “Piet & Mondrian” starring Lars Eidinger. 
The film takes as its starting point Mondrian’s 1919/1920 essay “Natural Reality and Abstract Reality”, in which Mondrian formulated foundational thoughts and considerations on abstraction in art. Based on his idea of a conversation over a walk at dusk, the striking presence of famous German theatre and film actor Lars Eidinger brings to life Mondrian’s theoretical text. The short film was directed by Lars Kraume, one of Germany‘s leading film directors. The film was produced on the occasion of the exhibition at the Fondation Beyeler by Felix von Boehm / Lupa Film with funding from the Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg. The screenplay was written by Constantin Lieb, the film was directed by Lars Kraume. Piet and Mondrian are played by Lars Eidinger.   #FondationBeyeler #BeyelerMondrian #MondrianEvolution #PietMondrian #Piet &Mondrian #LarsEidinger

The importance of abstraction in Georgia O'Keeffe's art is considerable, but often overlooked. “It is surprising to me to see how many people separate the objective from the abstract. Objective painting is not good painting unless it is good because it is a hill or a tree. It is lines and colors put together so that they say something. For me that is the very basis of a painting. The abstraction is often the most definite form for the intangible thing in myself that I can only clarify in paint.” — Georgia O’Keeffe, 1976 O'Keeffe leaped into abstraction with a group of charcoal drawings that were among the most radical creations produced in the United States at that time. She reduced her palette to black and white and filled her compositions with fluid forms reminiscent of Art Nouveau. Her first abstract artworks were made as early as 1915, the same year Malevich painted Black Square and only two years after Kandinsky painted his first abstract works. While there fewer abstract works after 1930, she returned to abstraction in the mid-1940s with a new vocabulary that provided a precedent for a younger generation of abstractionists. Although Georgia O’Keeffe has long been celebrated as a central figure in twentieth-century art, the abstract works she created throughout her career have remained overlooked by critics and the public in favor of her representational subjects. Still, throughout her life, Georgia O’Keeffe sought to transcribe her ineffable thoughts and emotions also in her abstract works. Very last chance to see Georgia O’Keeffe’s abstract and many other stunning works: the exhibition is on display until May 22. [Ticket link in Bio] #FondationBeyeler #BeyelerOKeeffe #GeorgiaOkeeffe Animation: @celine_louise with @studiomoono

Now online: As part of the major Georgia O'Keeffe retrospective, Cody Hartley, director of the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, shared his expert knowledge of one of the most important and fascinating artists of the 20th century. In conversation with Theodora Vischer, Chief Curator Fondation Beyeler, Hartley gave in-depth insights on Georgia O'Keeffe’s life in New Mexico and revealed, what moved the American painter and how her art reflects on that. The talk offered all those interested, a rare new perspective on the artist and is now available online on our website. Last chance to see Georgia O’Keeffe’s iconic flowers: the exhibition is on display until May 22. [Ticket link in bio] #FondationBeyeler #BeyelerOKeeffe

A look at New York through the eyes of artist Georgia O’Keeffe. “I realize it’s unusual for an artist to want to work way up near the roof of a big hotel in the heart of the roaring city but I think that’s just what the artist of today needs for stimulus. He has to have a place where he can behold the city as a unit before his eyes but at the same time have enough space left to work. Yes, contact with the city this way has certainly helped me as no amount of solitude in the country could.” ̶ Georgia O’Keeffe in an article of New York Evening Graphic, May 1928. After O'Keeffe settled in New York in 1918, she soon bought up the city motif in her work. Although known as a painter of natural forms, she is roaming the streets and concrete jungle of the Big Apple now, mainly in the evenings, just as she previously scouted the mountains of Virginia and the mesa of Texas. Not just the impressive urban architecture catches O'Keeffe's interest though, but also the reflections of the moon between the skyscrapers, which lights her way. Even in the midst of busy city life, nature remains her main theme. Last chance to stroll through Georgia O’Keeffes urban and rural landscapes: the exhibition is on display until May 22. [ticket link in bio] #FondationBeyeler #BeyelerOKeeffe #GeorgiaOKeeffe #NightskyNewyork #AnimationArt #OKeeffeAnimation Animation: @celine_louise with @studiomoono

Georgia O'Keeffe felt so at home in New Mexico she actually entertained two properties at the same time. Her summer home, called Ghost Ranch, is located 12 miles from Abiquiú, on the edge of an 8.5 hectare property. When Georgia O'Keeffe acquired the property in 1940, it served as a guest ranch and tourist destination. Despite its breathtaking location, Ghost Ranch is not suitable for year-round living. Therefore, O'Keeffe purchased a larger house in the village of Abiquiú, which served as a protective retreat for her during the winter months. Ghost Ranch reflects much of the aesthetics of the area and Georgia O'Keeffe's connection to it - the artist decorated the ranch with antlers and stoneware from her collection and refurbished the property so that the ranch could become her home. To learn more about O'Keeffe's time in New Mexico join us tonight for the talk between, Cody Hartley, director of the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe,. The talk starts at 6.30 p.m. tonight and there a few tickets left. #FondationBeyeler #BeyelerOKeeffe #GeorgiaOKeeffe #OKeeffeGhostRanch #GhostRanch #RanchLife #OKeeffeMuseum #CodyHartleys #NewMexicoHome Credit: @acb_films

«Everyone has many associations with a flower. You put out your hand to touch it, or lean forward to smell it, or maybe touch it with your lips almost without thinking, or give it to someone to please them. But one rarely takes the time to really see a flower. I have painted what each flower is to me and I have painted it big enough so that others would see what I see.» — Exhibition catalogue Georgia O’Keeffe «The Intimate Gallery» , New York, 1926 From 1925, O’Keeffe depicted flowers from a closer viewpoint, so that they filled the whole picture space. Yet, this process is not just about giving a close-up on a flower’s detail, but letting others see what she observes as an artist – to reveal her feelings when looking at a flower. By "making them big", it seems, she would rather hand over her own glasses to you than a magnifying glass. Last chance to see Georgia O’Keeffe’s iconic flowers: the exhibition is on display until May 22. [Ticket link in bio] #FondationBeyeler #BeyelerOKeeffe #GeorgiaOKeeffe #AnimationArt #OKeeffeAnimation With material from @acb_films Credit: Georgia O’Keeffe, Oriental Poppies, 1927, Oil on canvas, 76.7 × 102.1 cm, Collection of the Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. Museum purchase. 1937.1., © Georgia O'Keeffe Museum / 2021, Pro Litteris, Zürich, Georgia O’Keeffe, Jack-in-the-Pulpit No. IV, 1930 , Oil on canvas, 101,6 x 76,2 cm, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Alfred Stieglitz Collection, Bequest of Georgia O'Keeffe, 1987.58.3, © Board of Trustees, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Georgia O’Keeffe, Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1, 1932, Oil on canvas, 121,9 x 101,6 cm, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, 2014.35., © Georgia O'Keeffe Museum / 2021, Pro Litteris, Zürich, Animation: @celine_louise with @studiomoono