Pairings

The phenomenon of epoch-spanning artistic parallels and how they stimulate the imagination is the focus of Pairings. This exhibition shows some twenty juxtapositions of paintings, sculptures, and photographic works from the Museum's own collection with selected objects from the private Im Obersteg Collection.

The mixture of works from different eras and genres may lead at times to surprising encounters, and at times to harmonious elective affinities. For instance, when a large-format painting by contemporary Basel artist Mireille Gros encounters a small oil sketch by Paul Cezanne. Both are united by their artistic exploration of the perception of nature.

The exhibition will remain in constant motion. During the twelve-month run, new artworks will regularly be added, while others are removed. The ever-changing configuration of the collection will thus develop its own choreography.

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Selected pairs of works are accompanied by brief observations written by people in and outside the art world. Music, too, is an integral part of Pairings. In a collaboration with the Foundation for Young Musicians Basel, up-and-coming musicians have recorded selected compositions to accompany certain pairs of works. Visitors can listen to the music through headphones on benches in front of the artworks.

A separate exhibition room is dedicated to Marc Chagall: a group of early drawings and a painting by the artist were recently added to the collection of the Kunstmuseum Basel. The juxtaposition with the well-known Chagall holdings of the Im Obersteg Collection offers new insights into the painter's early work.

The occasion for the Pairings exhibition is the porcelain anniversary of the Im Obersteg Foundation and the Kunstmuseum Basel: the renowned private collection has been on deposit at the Kunstmuseum Basel for exactly 20 years.

In regularly scheduled re-hangings, new works by other artists will be added to the exhibition and others removed.