Art Gallery at the Kunsthaus Zürich

A bespoke solution for the Bührle-Kontex exhibition

ArtStore was commissioned to create a bespoke Art Gallery for the contextual and documentary exhibition on the Emil Bührle Collection at the Kunsthaus Zürich. The installation was finished in a specially formulated shade of green and is deliberately designed to complement the exhibition’s curatorial concept.

Contextualised presentation concept

The Emil Bührle Collection is housed at the Kunsthaus Zürich on permanent loan and comprises outstanding works of French Impressionism and classical modernism. Since 2023, it has been presented as part of a newly designed, contextualised exhibition concept. The exhibition focuses not only on the presentation of significant works of art, but above all on their multi-layered history of creation and ownership. The Bührle Collection is closely linked to the life of its collector, Emil Bührle, who worked as an industrialist and, during the Second World War, as an arms manufacturer.

These historical, political and economic contexts are critically examined and brought to light within the framework of the exhibition. The presentation is complemented by an archive exhibition that documents both the collection’s exhibition history and how it has been perceived by the public at different times and in different countries. It illustrates how perceptions of the collection have changed over time and highlights its historical and social context.

Art Gallery as a bespoke solution

The Art Gallery supplied by ArtStore supports this concept both functionally and aesthetically. The modular system with floor-mounted sliding panels offers flexible display areas for documents, maps and visual materials. The specially configured installation includes, amongst other things, a base module with five double-sided sliding panels and a total display area of around 29 m². The structure was complemented by a free-standing steel support framework and a project-specific colour coating in NCS 5040-G10Y, which was specifically chosen for this exhibition. Delivery and installation by the ArtStore specialist team were also part of the commission and ensured precise on-site implementation.

In this context, it is also worth highlighting the large storage facility at the Kunsthaus Zürich in the new Chipperfield building, which we were able to complete in 2020/21. The project illustrates how generous storage capacity (167 pull-outs) can be combined with sophisticated exhibition solutions. Here, we were able to install a high-quality L-30 linear system with a grid height of 4400 mm and a hanging area of 5780 m². 

Project implementation through teamwork

With this project-specific implementation, ArtStore once again demonstrates its expertise in developing bespoke solutions for sophisticated museum applications. The combination of functionality, flexibility and design adaptability makes it possible to convey even complex content in a compelling manner. The project was coordinated by the creative design agency Stillhart Schindler from Zurich, in close collaboration with ArtStore and the Kunsthaus Zürich. 

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