Swiss Art Dealer Elena Buchmann of Buchmann Galerie Dies at 78
The veteran gallerist who helped launch the careers of artists like Lawrence Carroll, Tony Cragg, and Wolfgang Laib is remembered for her ‘unwavering curiosity and deep fascination for art’. Save to My Ocula
Swiss dealer Elena Buchmann of Buchmann Galerie died in Lugano, Switzerland, on 4 July 2025 following ‘prolonged and serious illness’. She was 78.
André Buchmann, her son, shared the news on Tuesday: ‘It is with profound sadness that I announce the recent passing of Elena Buchmann, who died in Lugano.’
The gallery shut its Lugano exhibition space in March, with Buchmann moving to an advisory and artist mediation role and building the gallery’s archive.
André said the family remembers the gallerist as ‘warm-hearted person with an unwavering curiosity and deep fascination for art’.
Buchmann staged over 300 exhibitions since co-launching the gallery in St. Gallen in 1975, backing the early careers of artists like Lawrence Carroll, Tony Cragg, Mario Merz, and Wolfgang Laib—many of whom have stayed with Buchmann Galerie.
Buchmann Galerie today represents a compact but established roster of artists like Martin Disler, Lawrence Weiner, Fiona Rae, and Clare Woods, with a focus on contemporary painting and sculpture, along with a commitment to realising large-scale public projects. —[O]
Main image: Exhibition view: Tony Cragg, _Sculptures and Drawings, _Buchmann Galerie, Berlin (2 May–21 June 2025). Courtesy Buchmann Galerie.
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