Last week of March and preparing to go skiing in Chandolin for a week.
But before we leave, we’re going to soak up some culture at the Musée Cantonal des Beaux-Arts in Lausanne. It’s just around the corner, so we don’t even need to put on a coat in this mild spring weather. The museum was designed by Estudio Barozzi Veiga and opened his doors during Covid-19 in October 2019. The Estudio also did 5 projects in Belgium; Antwerp, Brussels, Nieuwpoort, Kortrijk and Knokke-Heist. Something new to visit and added to our to-do list, or wish list.
The first thing you see when you walk into the museum is Giuseppe Penone’s impressive sculpture ‘Luce e ombra’ [Light and shadow] donated by Alice Pauli.
A tall bronze tree of 14,5 metre with gold plated leaves and a granite sphere. Impressive.
The stairs, hall and windows are beautifully harmonised and invite you to enjoy the view over Lac Léman. Because of the moving clouds, it looks a bit like a lifelike, ever-changing painting.
We started with the photo installation ‘Wet rooms’ of Sophie Thun. The title refers to the dark room where she develops here analogue photographs.
Mixed large photo prints with over lays of her own image where she has worked and lived thus creating a living archive.
The second exposition was completely devoted to Alice Pauli (13/01/1922 – 15/07/2022).
She was a Swiss Gallery owner, collector, art patron and opened her first gallery in 1961 in Lausanne. The lady had undoubtedly a nose and heart for art. She often had long-lasting relationships with the artists whose works she had purchased
She also was one of the big promoters and supporters of the project to construct a new fine-arts museum in Lausanne.
Upon her death, Alici Pauli appointed the canton of Vaud as her sole heir, in favour of the MCBA.
She owned several art works by Giuseppe Penone [Arte Povera] , some of which are on display. The works featuring acacia thorns shine in their simplicity.
In MCBA’s permanent collection we discovered works from Giovanni Giacometti, Marcel Broodthaers and Karel Appel. And of course some local Suisse painters such as Eugène Burnand & Edmond Bille. I didn’t know them at all, but they do give a genuine impression of the past.
Was it worth it? Yes, definitely. The building and the entire Platform 10 site are a wonderful place to visit. Highly recommended.
