Marc Bauer
Fear Rage Desire
Still Standing
The Kunstmuseum Basel presents a project by the internationally renowned Swiss artist Marc Bauer (b. 1975). Bauer’s drawings grapple with history, memory, gender, and identity from a queer perspective. Titled Marc Bauer. Fear Rage Desire, Still Standing, the presentation intertwines motifs from art history, from artists such as Hieronymus Bosch (ca. 1450-1516) and Nasta Rojc (1883-1964), with photographs from the internet and archival material. Bauer’s work focuses on the construction of masculinity and the violence it unleashes in society and—that is the central theme in this project—against queer people in particular. Tracing a long arc from history to the present, he reveals how deeply entrenched such violence is in social structures.
Bauer’s works are based on extensive research: he reads academic literature, delves into archives, and talks to scholars and experts. One of his interlocutors has been Jonathan D. Katz, who organized, researched, and curated the exhibition The First Homosexuals. He then selects images and writings from a variety of sources, which he translates into a very personal and exceptionally fascinating visual universe that is laced with ambiguity and provokes searching reflections.
Project view, Marc Bauer. Fear, Rage, Desire. Stil Standing, 2026, Photo: Raphaela Graf
Created right on the museum’s walls, Bauer’s mural drawings are destroyed after the end of an exhibition. Visitors are invited to watch him at work on site starting March 4, 2026. The artist will return on two occasions to rework the wall drawings (May 12–17 and November 3–7, 2026). The presentation combines the murals with drawings on canvas and paper and a soundtrack composed by the Berlin-based artists Sin Maldita (Tim Roth) and Philipp Hülsenbeck for a multimedia installation.
Bauer was invited to create this work on occasion of the exhibition The First Homosexuals. The Birth of New Identities 1869–1939, which is on view at the Neubau from March 7 until August 2, 2026.
Photo: Vincent van der Marck © Copyright 2026 Studio Marc Bauer.
Marc Bauer (b. Geneva, 1975) lives and works in Zurich. He studied at the École Supérieure d’Arts Visuels Genève (now HEAD) and at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten, Amsterdam. He has been a lecturer at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) since 2015.
His art has been on display in solo projects at renowned international institutions including the Menil Drawing Institute, Houston (2023–2024); the Berlinische Galerie (2020–2021), Berlin; the Istituto Svizzero, Milan (2020); Drawing Room, London (2019); the Centre Culturel Suisse, Paris (2013), and MAMCO, Geneva (2010). His work has also been showcased in group exhibitions, including at Kunsthaus Zürich (2025, 2019, 2015, and 2008); the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (2021); the Migros Museum, Zurich (2019 and 2014); S.M.A.K., Ghent (2015), and the Albertina, Vienna (2015). Bauer moreover participated in the 2018 Biennale of Sydney and the 2014 Liverpool Biennial.
He was awarded the Prix Meret Oppenheim in 2020 and the GASAG Art Prize in 2020 and won the Prix Culturel Manor in Geneva in 2009 and Swiss Art Awards in 2001, 2005, and 2006.
Events for this exhibition
GUIDED TOUR
NEUBAU
15:00–16:00
Führung in der Ausstellung «The First Homosexuals»
In German: Kosten: Eintritt + CHF 7
GUIDED TOUR
NEUBAU
12:30–13:00
30 Minuten: Das Selbst im Spiegel
In German: Mit der wissenschaftlichen Mitarbeiterin Anna Dedi. Kosten: Eintritt
GUIDED TOUR
NEUBAU
15:00–16:00
Führung in der Ausstellung «The First Homosexuals»
FULLY BOOKED!
In German: Kosten: Eintritt + CHF 7
GUIDED TOUR
NEUBAU
15:00–16:00
Guided tour of the exhibition «The First Homosexuals»
Costs: Admission + CHF 7
GUIDED TOUR
NEUBAU
12:30–13:00
30 Minuten: Kunst und Aktivismus
In German: Mit Kurator:in Len Schaller. Kosten: Eintritt
GUIDED TOUR
NEUBAU
15:00–16:00
Führung in der Ausstellung «The First Homosexuals»
FULLY BOOKED!
In German: Kosten: Eintritt + CHF 7
GUIDED TOUR
HAUPTBAU
12:30–13:00
30 Minuten: Geliebter Radrennfahrer
In German: Mit der wissenschaftlichen Mitarbeiterin Provenienzforschung Katharina Georgi-Schaub. Kosten: Eintritt
GUIDED TOUR
NEUBAU
15:00–16:00
Führung in der Ausstellung «The First Homosexuals»
In German: Kosten: Eintritt + CHF 7
PROGRAM DAY
NEUBAU
10:00–17:45
Program Day: The First Homosexuals. The Birth of New Identities 1869–1939
On the occasion of the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Transphobia, and Asexualphobia (IDAHOBIT) and International Museum Day 2026, the diverse program opens up new perspectives on the scientific debates of the time. Costs: Admission + CHF 7 / Participation free of charge
PROGRAM DAY
NEUBAU
11:00–12:15
Film screening: «Anders als die Andern»
In German: Silent film by Richard Oswald, Germany, 1919, 50 min., with German and English intertitles. With an introduction by Johnny Willis, deputy curator. Participation free of charge, registration required
PROGRAM DAY
NEUBAU
11:00–14:30
Installation “Fear Rage Desire, Still Standing” by Marc Bauer
Inspired by selected themes from the exhibition "The First Homosexuals," artist Marc Bauer works on his wall drawing. Participation free of charge
PROGRAM DAY
NEUBAU
13:00–14:30
Panel discussion “The First Homosexuals”
Panel discussion with Jonathan D. Katz, curator, Charlotte Matter, Laurenz Assistant Professor of Contemporary Art at the University of Basel, and Len Schaller, curator, on the central ideas and wider implications of the exhibition “The First Homosexuals”. Participation free of charge
PROGRAM DAY
NEUBAU
15:00–16:00
Guided tour of the exhibition «The First Homosexuals»
Costs: Admission + CHF 7
PROGRAM DAY
NEUBAU
16:00–16:45
Tandem tour with Katha Baur from Feminist Salon Basel and Marianne van Vulpen from queerAltern, as well as Anna Dedi, research assistant
in German: This tandem tour invites visitors to see the exhibition from new queer perspectives. Cost: Admission + CHF 7
PROGRAM DAY
NEUBAU
17:00–17:45
Tandem tour with Rolf Thalmann, board member of Schwulenarchiv Schweiz, and Aïcha Revellat, art educator
In German: Archives brought to life: objects from the social, state, and gay archive offer exciting insights into the past. Cost: Admission + CHF 7
GUIDED TOUR
NEUBAU
15:00–16:00
Führung in der Ausstellung «The First Homosexuals»
In German: Kosten: Eintritt + CHF 7
GUIDED TOUR
NEUBAU
15:00–16:00
Führung in der Ausstellung «The First Homosexuals»
In German: Kosten: Eintritt + CHF 7
GUIDED TOUR
NEUBAU
15:00–16:00
Guided tour of the exhibition «The First Homosexuals»
Costs: Admission + CHF 7
GUIDED TOUR
NEUBAU
15:00–16:00
Guided tour of the exhibition «The First Homosexuals»
Costs: Admission + CHF 7
GUIDED TOUR
NEUBAU
15:00–16:00
Führung in der Ausstellung «The First Homosexuals»
In German: Kosten: Eintritt + CHF 7
