Spot on the artist from Bern
Passage: Victor Surbek (1885–1975) - Works from the Collection
In the first half of the 20th century, Victor Surbek was among the leading Bernese artists who succeeded Ferdinand Hodler. In 2005 the estate’s executers dissolved the Brunnmatt district studio of the artist couple. From a still rich fund of artworks, the Kunstmuseum Bern had the privilege of selecting those it wanted to complete its collection – which hitherto comprised, among other works, the complete oeuvre of Victor Surbek’s prints.
Victor Surbek studied art at schools in Munich, Karlsruhe, and Paris. Over many decades he painted alpine landscapes and views from his summer studio in Iseltwald on the Brienzersee. Italy had the strongest artistic influence on his work. Of the plane that took him to the USA we only see the suggestion of a wing as it vanishes in the haze of clouds in his large painting Wolkenflug (Cloud Flying), an unusual, ultimately abstract work. A selection of several of his works from the last gift will help us remember this artist, who was, while deeply rooted here in the region, also a well-travelled man.
