JOSEPH BEUYS

Collection presentation Kunstmuseum Basel From 12 June 2024 Basel

Press Release

In 1969, Kunstmuseum Basel showed the first solo exhibition in Switzerland by Joseph Beuys (1921–1986). In 1977, the museum acquired the piece THE HEARTH (Feuerstätte), developed 1974. Metal rods lean against three walls of the gallery, correspondingly to the prime numbers between one and eleven. Three chalk-marked blackboards form part of the exhibition. One contains the word “Hearth” beside the outline of a map of Ireland; the other two contain notes Beuys made on a talk he gave in England in 1974 in which he spoke on reorganizing society. A handcart with a disassembled copper rod and a further rod shaped like a walking stick and wrapped in felt are placed in the room. A long copper and iron rod, called “Eurasienstab” by Beuys, is placed behind the rods on the wall.

THE HEARTH (Feuerstätte) was created in a moment when Beuys convincingly succeeded in using materials to situate and bring together his artistic and political ideas in space. The chalkboard drawings and the placement of the rods evoke an assembly. Beuys uses copper, iron and felt for their physical properties, as they conduct and store warmth. He saw a similar potential in the social energy that would be necessary to jointly change political systems.

About the Artist

German artist Joseph Beuys is both a widely celebrated and contested artist who coined the term ‘social sculpture’. To many, Beuys is an enigma with an elaborate mythos that coloured his work throughout his lifetime.

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About the Gallery

The Öffentliche Kunstsammlung Basel, the municipal art collection of Basel, dates back to 1661, when the city acquired the Amerbach Cabinet. It grew steadily over the centuries, necessitating several relocations within Basel. The Hauptbau on St. Alban-Graben was inaugurated in 1936. A first enlargement came in 1980, when the Kunstmuseum Basel | Gegenwart opened its doors; a third venue, known as the Neubau, was added in 2016.

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Address

St. Alban-Graben 16
Basel
Switzerland

Opening Hours

Tuesday – Sunday, 10am – 6pm
Wednesday, 10am – 8pm
Monday Closed

Kunstmuseum Basel

St. Alban-Graben 16, Basel, Switzerland

+41 61 206 62 62
https://kunstmuseumbasel.ch/en/kunstmuseum-basel

Opening hours

Tuesday – Sunday, 10am – 6pm
Wednesday, 10am – 8pm
Monday Closed

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The art world in focus

JOSEPH BEUYS

Installation Views

Also Exhibiting at Kunstmuseum Basel