On Jimmie Durham | Anthony Huberman and Gianni Jetzer
Jimmie Durham’s Maquette for a Museum of Switzerland is a sincere and irritating piece of visual art– a proposal championing pre-Christian, Swiss folk culture. Though at times slipping into the subjective, the exhibition directs an anthropological lens at the country and the construction of national identity and symbolic economies. This past Saturday, Curators Anthony Huberman and Gianni Jetzer got together to discuss Durham’s stories and how they incorporate question, answer, fact, and fiction.
As part of the exhibition Heart to Hand, Ariana Reines performed SWISSNESS, conceived of specifically for the exhibition. Reines is the author of The Cow, Coeur de Lion, Mercury, and the play Telephone. She has translated TIQQUN, Jean-Luc Hennig, and Charles Baudelaire.
A numerological wonder 3-6-12 is the date Swiss Insitute opened three great new projects– Heart to Hand curated by Pati Hertling, Still life, Stones, and Elephants by Nicolas Party; and Maquette for a Museum of Switzerland by Jimmie Durham. Here is a peek at who joined us. You can see all the photos here.
H.E. Ambassador François Barras; Consul, Head of the Cultural Department Catherine Scharf; Former President of Swiss Confederation Pascal Couchepin; and SI Director Gianni Jetzer
A sneak peak at two of the three new installations at Swiss Institute. Now open are Nicolas Party’s Still Life, Stones, and Elephants as well as Heart to Hand curated by Pati Hertling. See you soon! Gallery hours are Wednesday – Sunday, noon to six!
Nicolas Party in Still Life, Stones, and Elephants
Last Sunday marked our third installment of the series Private Views, and the final one dedicated to discussing Jean-Frédéric Schnyder. Critic and curator David Rimanelli presented us with a contemporary lesson, one which focused on tropes of domesticity, pop, and the highs and the lows of specialty cultures in the work of Jean-Frédéric Schnyder.
David Rimanelli presents Private Views
David Rimanelli
Guests during David Rimanelli's Private Views walk through
This week at Swiss Institute, we’re preparing for our next shows, Heart to Hand curated by Pati Hertling, Still life, Stones, and Elephants by Nicolas Party, and Maquette for a Museum of Switzerland by Jimmie Durham. As part of Check out the elapsed video taken from the removal of the platform in SI’s main Gallery.
Preparations for the upcoming Nicolas Party installation include foraging for rocks in Long Island. Here GM Clément Délépine helps deliver the Party booty.
SI Director Gianni Jetzer teamed up with Board member, director of photography, and all around maven Emma Reeves to host a Saturday brunch at Swiss Institute. Guests enjoyed make-your-own muesli and fresh squeezed juice, as well as a lesson about unsung and seminal artist Jean-Frédéric Schnyder.
Last Tuesday marked our second installment of the series Private Views. Curator Philipp Kaiser presented us with an art historical lesson, situating the work of Jean-Frédéric Schnyder amongst contemporaries Franz Gertsch and James Lee Byers. This position suggests that the work of Schnyder rests between the poles of American pop art, on one hand, and a caricature of traditional Swiss art on the other. Enjoy the lecture Private Views | Philipp Kaiser.
Philipp Kaiser
Preparatory exhibition drawing, a scroll provided by Schnyder
Schnyder in Chrysler, taken from the catalog, "When Attitudes Become Form."
