Aargauer Kunsthaus
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| Established | 1959 |
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| Location | Aargauerplatz 1, Aarau, Canton of Aargau, Switzerland |
| Coordinates | 47°23′24″N 8°02′41″E / 47.389965°N 8.044816°E |
| Type | Art museum |
| Director | Katharina Ammann |
| Website | www |
The Aargauer Kunsthaus (English: Aargau Art House) is a Swiss art museum founded in 1959, and located in Aarau. The museum collection consists of Swiss art from the 18th century to the present day.[1][2]
History
The Aargauer Kunsthaus traces its origins to the founding of the Aargau Art Association in 1860 as a section of the Swiss Art Association. In 1861, the association organised the first Swiss Art Exhibition in Aarau, held in the former Postremise. Over the following decades, the association pursued the establishment of a permanent museum for Swiss art, which was realised in 1959 with the opening of the Aargauer Kunsthaus in Aarau. In 1962, a formal agreement defined the cooperation between the canton and the association, under which the canton assumed ownership and maintenance of the building, while the association remained responsible for the collection and exhibitions. Subsequent growth of the collection led to an expansion of the museum, completed in 2003.[3]
About
The Aargauer Kunsthaus holds more than 21,000 works, making it one of the most extensive public collections of Swiss art from the 18th century to the present.[4] Works in the museum art collection include artists such as Alberto Giacometti, Jean Tinguely, Richard Long, and Fischli/Weiss.[5]
Since 2017, the museum has increasingly incorporated digital mediation formats, including augmented reality and video-based projects. In 2024, it collaborated with the Fantoche animation film festival on the exhibition Re-Mix, in which video artists animated selected works from the museum's collection.[4]
The collection is housed in a building constructed between 1956 and 1959 by local architects Loepfe Hänni and Hänngli.[5] In 2003, the museum was expanded with a new building designed by the architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron.[5][6]
Since 1 July 2020, art historian Katharina Ammann has served as the director of Aargauer Kunsthaus.[7]
Exhibitions
The Aargauer Kunsthaus hosts an annual flower exhibition in which contemporary florists interpret selected works from the museum's collection. In 2025, the exhibition attracted around 18,000 visitors within six days.[8]
In 2026, it presented a collection-based exhibition devoted to the Swiss artist Mario Sala, drawing on works from its own holdings as well as additional loans.[9]
See also
- List of contemporary art museums
- List of museums in Switzerland
- Manor Cultural Prize
- Aargauer Literaturhaus
References
- ^ DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Switzerland. Penguin. 10 October 2013. ISBN 978-1-4654-1359-8.
- ^ "Aargauer Kunsthaus | Sammlung". Aargauer Kunsthaus | Sammlung (in German). Retrieved 11 July 2025.
- ^ "History". Aargauer Kunsthaus. Retrieved 3 March 2026.
- ^ a b "Aargauer Kunsthaus erweckt Sammlungsbilder virtuell zu neuem Leben". SWI swissinfo (in German). 26 August 2024. Retrieved 3 March 2026.
- ^ a b c "The new Aargauer Kunsthaus by Herzog & de Meuron". Domusweb.it (in Italian). Retrieved 3 October 2022.
- ^ "Aargauer Kunsthaus". Lonelyplanet.com. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
- ^ "Neue Direktorin für das Aargauer Kunsthaus: Auf Madeleine Schuppli folgt Katharina Ammann". Aargauer Zeitung (in German). 2020. OCLC 611044404. Archived from the original on 18 July 2020.
- ^ "Run auf Aargauer Ausstellung – Die Schweiz im Sog der Schnittblumen". Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF). 4 March 2025. Retrieved 3 March 2026.
- ^ "Mario Sala: Winterthurer Künstler erhält Ehrung in Aarau". Tages-Anzeiger (in German). 24 February 2026. Retrieved 3 March 2026.
External links
- Official website (in German and English)
