Arp, Cahn, Magnelli, Taeuber-Arp. The art of giving

Over the past decade, the Marguerite Arp Foundation has received several donations of works from private individuals. In many cases, these are works that Jean Arp or Marguerite Arp-Hagenbach had donated to friends and which now, decades later, return to the Foundation, completing the collection. A virtuous cycle of gifts.

The exhibition presents works by "home-grown" artists Jean Arp (1886-1966) and Sophie Taeuber-Arp (1889-1943) in dialogue with Marcelle Cahn (1895-1981) and Alberto Magnelli (1888-1971): four leading figures in 20th-century modern art linked by deep friendship. Along with precious unpublished archival materials, paintings, collages, reliefs, sculptures and drawings are on display, some of which are presented to the public for the first time.

The core of works by Marcelle Cahn, an exponent of geometric abstraction tinged with lyricism, is the most important in Switzerland and covers the period from the 1950s to the 1970s. On display are "tableau relief," collages and the lithographs accompanying Arp's poetry cycle Blatt um Feder um Blatt. Recently donated works by Alberto Magnelli allow the presentation of his artistic journey from the 1920s to the 1960s through one of the most significant collections in Switzerland. The splendid collage A mes amis Sophie et Jean (1940) and the lithographs made by several hands for the Grasse Album document the strong bonds of friendship.

Exhibition curated by Simona Martinoli

Guided tours and cultural mediation activities by appointment

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