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Ernst Stückelberg, Shirley Jaffe

ERNST STÜCKELBERG, SHIRLEY JAFFE

Size Matters Kunstmuseum Basel 11 April 2025–31 December 2027 Basel
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Press Release

Creating a large work of art is no small feat. An artist’s studio must, first of all, be spacious enough. The work may not fit on an easel or, once completed, be able to pass through the studio door. Up until the 19th century, the mere acquisition of a canvas beyond standard dimensions could be a challenge.

Yet apparently, art sometimes demands a certain size. Ernst Stückelberg’s 1886 work, for example, conveys across its two by three meters the enormous historical and emotional significance of the worst catastrophe that ever befell Basel, and in 1965 Shirley Jaffe chose a format that permitted her to channel her entire body’s energy into her painting. Expansive and ambitious, “great” in several senses of the word, the thirty imposing works from the Kunstmuseum’s collection on view here provide insight into some of the manifold motivations for producing large format artworks.

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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
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Basel St. Alban-Graben 16
Kunstmuseum Basel contemporary art institution in Basel Switzerland
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