Migros Aare and the Kunstmuseum Bern Unite Forces

More or less intensively and in different phases, since the end of the 1960s the Genossenschaft Migros Aare has pursued the target of accruing a diverse collection of artworks executed by contemporary artists in the region. Ulrich Loock, director of the Kunsthalle at the time, was asked by the then Genossenschaft Migros Bern between 1987 and 1997 to selectively purchase on its behalf artworks by outstanding artists representing contemporary art in the Bern region. Migros Aare handed over all the artworks it had collected as a gift to the Kunstmuseum Bern in 2005. In taking this step, Migros Aare wanted to ensure that the some 120 works of art would remain accessible to a wide audience. The holdings of the gift comprise around 64 individual works and various series by 21 artists.

Artworks Exhibited for the First
Time A representative survey of this gift is now being presented in the first-ever exhibition devoted exclusively to it. No use-by date illustrates the undiminished relevance of the departures represented in the gift together with recent works from the art collection of Migros Aare, which has again intensified its art-acquisition activities since 2016. “For the Migros Aare Culture Percentage, the exhibition provides a welcome opportunity to show the art collection to a wide audience, ” says Anton Gäumann, managing director of Migros Aare. According to Nina Zimmer, director of the Kunstmuseum Bern – Zentrum Paul Klee, the collaboration between the supermarket company and museum from the curatorial angle is a great success: “While both these worlds could not be more different, if we translate the categories of “products”, “freshness” and “presentation” in terms of art they prove amazingly fertile.” The works by artists from different generations and purchasing periods enter into a dialogue in the exhibition, clearly illustrating that art has no use-by date and that, viewed from various perspectives, we can discern its validity for the present too.

The exhibition at the Kunstmuseum Bern lasts from 3 May to 15 September, 2019.

With works by Peter Aerschmann, M.S. Bastian & Isabelle L., Babette Berger, Heinz Brand, Balthasar Burkhard, Vincent Chablais, Dimitra Charamandas, Quynh Dong, Marianne Engel, Esther Ernst, Gabi Fuhrimann, Mireille Gros, Maia Gusberti, Jerry Haenggli, Thomas Kneubühler, Tomas Kratky, Alois Lichtsteiner, Christian Lindow, Ingeborg Lüscher, Urs Lüthi, Heinz Mollet, Jürg Moser, Victorine Müller, Sadhyo Niederberger, Pat Noser, Adela Picón, Vaclav Pozarek, Ilona Ruegg, Claude Sandoz, Albrecht Schnider, Leopold Schropp, Irene Schubiger, Dominik Stauch, Andreas Tschersich, Rolf Winnewisser, Uwe Wittwer, Thomas Woodtli and Martin Ziegelmüller.

Curators
Eva Bigler, Sarah Merten, Claudia Spinelli

Contact
Maria-Teresa Cano
Head of Communication and Public Relations Kunstmuseum Bern – Zentrum Paul Klee , Tel.: +41 31 328 09 44

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Daniela Lüpold
Corporate Communication Manager Genossenschaft Migros Aare media@migrosaare.ch, T +41 58 565 86 55