This diversity can be experienced in the current exhibition Collection 23: On the upper level, it focusses on the juxtaposition of paintings and sculptures, such as landscapes by Caspar Wolf, a portrait by Louise Breslau, works from the German and Swiss expressionism, paintings from the classical modernism in immediate proximity to modern and contemporary sculptures. This interplay between image and object gives rise to associative connections both among the various periods and among the works.

The recently restored wooden sculpture Mutter (Mother) by Hermann Scherer, for example, is presented together with the artist’s landscape paintings and a painting by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. In the neighbouring room, paintings by Cuno Amiet, Augusto Giacometti, Ferdinand Hodler and Edouard Vallet frame the 1997 sculptural work Rotation grün (Rotation green) by Lucie Schenker, which found its way into the collection through the exhibition Swiss Sculpture since 1945.

Continuing with the exhibition on the lower level, one finds intricate paper works and photographs by contemporary artists dominating the first part. Cécile Wick’s photographs of cityscapes and abstract nature images, drawings by Mireille Gros, and a large-format cyanotype by Daniela Keiser alternate with video installations.

Echoing the Augustin Rebetez exhibition Vitamin, part two shows works from the Nouveau Réalisme and the Fluxus Movement. An empty frame and a studio situation by Dieter Roth, the writing Suiza no existe by Ben Vautier and two snare pictures by Daniel Spoerri exemplify the tight entanglement of Art and Life.