Since 1977 · Zug, Viennese modernity and long-term artistic projects

In Zug, the most important collection of Viennese modernity outside Austria dialogues with Swiss surrealism, sculpture, regional art and contemporary projects inscribed in the city.

The Zuger Kunstgesellschaft was founded in 1957 with the aim of creating a museum with its own collection. A first Kunsthaus opened in 1977 in the Altstadthalle, then the institution moved in 1990 to the Hof im Dorf, a 16th century complex transformed by the architect Franz Füeg. Its profile is based on several complementary foyers. The Stiftung Sammlung Kamm, installed at the museum since 1998, brings together the most important collection of Viennese modernity in Europe outside Austria. Klimt, Schiele, Kokoschka, Gerstl, Hoffmann, Moser, Kiesler and the Wiener Werkstätte show how painting, drawing, architecture and applied arts sought to transform modern life together. THE swiss surrealism, fantastic realism, central Swiss art and sculpture extend this story. Since 1996, the "Projekt Sammlung" has offered a more experimental model: artists like Olafur Eliasson, Tadashi Kawamata, Roman Signer and Richard Tuttle have worked for several years with the city, its spaces and its inhabitants. The four available works bring together three landscapes by Gustav Klimt and a Tunisian scene by August Macke. The Fir Forest I condenses the trunks into a green wall. The horticultural landscapes transform gardens, hills and houses into colored mosaics. In Arabisches Café, Macke simplifies figures and architecture under the effect of light north African. Together, these paintings reveal a collection where Vienna, Central Europe and travel experiences remain open to the present. The "Kunsthaus Zug" selection notably compares Fir Forest I and Horticultural Landscape with a hilltop. His reading favors figures.

The Kunsthaus Zug is thought of as both a treasure and a laboratory: it preserves Viennese modernity while making the city an artistic material.