The Beyeler Foundation building, the brainchild of Renzo Piano
riehen , nice neighborhood on the outskirts of basel , year 1997. Ernst and Hildy Beyeler they arrive with their paintings under their arms at their new home. "Not bad" they would say to themselves when contemplating how Renzo Piano had internalized and perfectly expressed the ideals that had led them to be the world's greatest art collectors . Yes, they returned after their works of art had rested on foreign soil (including a stay at the Reina Sofía) for a whopping 15 years . They may have treated their particular stems , but it is not the same as having them all well collected under one roof, not far from where this couple changed the history of the art market back in the 70s. beyler marriage there is the foundation of Art Basel, the most important art fair in the world , a position that today maintains a hard fight with the Tefaf of Maastricht . And also having accumulated one of the largest collections of post-impressionist, avant-garde and contemporary art in the world.
His trick was not to move inherited money well, far from it. Was a ant work based on humility, work, knowledge and respect. Ernst's eyes and gestures conveyed so much respect and admiration by the works of many artists that these themselves felt comfortable with his presence and with his patronage. It is said that he had passport needed to invade the studio picasso and personally choose the works. some others like I look either Giacometti They directly treated him like one more colleague, without that safety distance between artist and bill payer.
The Monet room of the Beyeler Foundation
All this rambling is necessary to understand that good vibes that this museum transmits , and that makes it cool among the cool . Really, believe me, you don't have to be very knowledgeable in contemporary art to enjoy every moment, and that is discovered long before entering its limits. The mere fact of having to take a tram that is shared with mysterious japanese and with people dressed in their Sunday suits, he already sees a special outcome . But the first part of ecstasy is reached when you cross the gates and feel, more or less, what the beyler marriage back then. Plasma, Plasma, Plasma, claps and more claps and onomatopoeic expressions of amazement at a beautiful building beautifully integrated in a beautiful garden. Three parallel bodies, a lot of green around and, to reach the zenith of what bucolic , a small lake from which reeds, water lilies and the reflections of the sculptures inside emerge. Renzo-Piano It shines by projecting large windows that serve as invisible walls that allow you to enjoy the art from the garden and admire the plants from the inside. By providing these views, he achieves that many times the sculptures of walking men of Giacometti have much more freedom within the existentialism that surrounds them, without a visual wall that separates them from the world and makes them give up illusions (if they have them). Or that the popular painting of the Nympheas of Monet not end with the sudden white of the walls, but with a real appendage in the aforementioned lake. A body of water placed especially for generate this feeling , so as not to let the perception of the works languish between the walls.
But the interior is not only to enjoy the exterior. is for be hugged for each work of art. another genius of Renzo was to devise a translucent ceiling that, on the one hand, would let in all the natural light and, on the other, could be handled, moved and oriented in such a way that it would not damage any work. And this, gentlemen, is pure ecology for economic purposes no posturing. In addition, he manages to illuminate each painting with the utmost delicacy, far from the uncomfortable artificial lights from many galleries.
The large windows of the Beyeler Foundation, a great idea by Renzo Piano
Another of the great successes of the museum is not to wallpaper the walls with canvases. It has a lot of surface and takes advantage of it by leaving space between work and work , without allowing any horde of group visits to disturb you. Then, yes, it is true, that it has some wink a little too gafapasta, but that gives it a peculiar touch, such as being able to listen to certain works of music looking at a painting . Throwing a little topicazo, before Monet plays La Mer de Debussy causing the environment to become too liquid.
The last great virtue of Beyeler Foundation is to convey that feeling that you always have to come back. It is basically the most exciting museum in terms of exhibitions , managing to give glory and relevance to many artists previously undervalued in Europe . In this aspect, it perfectly inherits the spirit of the now disappeared Ernst , that he devised so much ArtBasel like this space as a place where everything good had a place, without politicking or interested patronage . Without going any further, he allowed Christo and Jean-Claude wallpaper the trees in your garden or that the customs officer Rousseau was admired as a Post-Impressionist artist of high standing . Not to say that he was responsible for that Basquiat stir consciences with a major retrospective in 2010 that filled the Pompidou months later. That is, this beautiful museum , this place where content and container merge perfectly, is a blessed trend setter and, therefore, we must venerate him and always keep him present in the hedonistic sentences before going to sleep.
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Sam Keller and Ernst Beyeler, alma mater of the Foundation