Two very different exhibitions are closing at the end of July. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to see them. One is in Basel and the other in Pully near Lausanne.
Amuse Bouche. The Taste of Art at Museum Tinguely, Basel
The exhibition features over 80 works by some 45 international artists, it is arranged thematically around the core tastes sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami. Artists include Farah Al Qasimi, Joseph Beuys, Marcel Duchamp, Damien Hirst, Sarah Lucas, Otobong Nkanga, Emeka Ogboh, Dennis Oppenheim, Meret Oppenheim, Cindy Sherman, Sam Taylor-Johnson and Andy Warhol.
To accompany you on your taste journey, you are given a little bag with various things to taste as you reach the appropriate part of the exhibition. It also includes a steam distilled mix as part of Claudia Vogel’s Tastescope installation. Mine was made up of strawberry, peppermint, rosemary, moss and Swiss pine.
From left to right:
Andy Warhol, Campbell’s Soup II, Cheddar Cheese Soup, 1969
“I used to drink it. I used to have the same lunch every day, for 20 years, I guess, the same thing over and over again.” This is how he described his relationship with Campbell’s soups.
Elizabeth Willing, Goosebump, 2011 until today
Goosebump is inspired by the story of Hansel and Gretel. Visitors are invited to take a bite from the 20m long wall covered with gingerbread bumps. Are you disgusted? Intrigued? Are your brave enough to try? Due to Corona, visitors are no longer able to participate. But I am not sure that I would have done anyway!
Slavs and Tatars, Brine and Punishment, 2019. Pickle Tits, 2018
Berlin based art collective Slavs and Tatars have created Brine and Punishment, a vending machine containing chilled sauerkraut juice! This fermented sour power drink is intended to arouse visitors’ curiosity for their work. It sits within a room covered with ‘Pickle tits’ posters. The basis of their work is the examination of language, ‘getting sour’ in science, religion, philosophy and politics.
For more information on the exhibition here
Paris en fête. Toulouse-Lautrec, Matisse, Dufy… at the Musée d’art de Pully
The exhibition covers the period from the end of the 19th century to the middle of the 20th century during which time two world wars took place. During this period Paris was being modernised through the architecture of Baron Hausmann and the construction of the Eiffel Tower and the Grand and Petit Palais. It is this Paris and an expression of its vibrancy as a modern, daring and carefree city that these artists depict.
It is sometimes hard to describe the buzz you get from seeing an artwork ‘in real life’. This is especially true of works, that we are used to seeing as reproductions. Maybe because they have become a little overexposed, we no longer see their real beauty, style or appeal. For me, this was certainly true of the Toulouse-Lautrec works shown in the exhibition. Seeing them in full size and up close made me appreciate them all over again and see them in a new light.
The unexpected stars of the exhibition were the numerous artworks by Raoul Dufy, also a French painter, but arguably less well known than either Toulouse Lautrec or Matisse. His style is expressive and colourful. He is known for his depictions of open-air social events, from his watercolours of Parisian streetlife and his pictures of orchestras performing to scenes of horse racing at Epsom.
The exhibition runs to 26 July and more information can be found here
Pully is 5 minutes by train from Lausanne. I walked from Pully back to Ouchy, Lausanne along the lake front, which took about 35 mins. There are stunning views of the lake and across to France on the other side.
