Alberto Giacometti, Femme Assise (Seated Woman), 1956. Art © Alberto Giacometti Estate/Licensed by VAGA and ARS, New York, NY
Giacometti: Memory and Presence
Giacometti: Memory and Presence profiles Alberto Giacometti, one of the titans of
20th–century modernism. Designed chronologically, it captures Giacometti’s artistic maturation from youthful explorations to his greatest achievements. Presented are sculptures, paintings, drawings and decorative objects revealing the aesthetic evolution, emotional power and existential qualities of Giacometti’s oeuvre. Pieces are from the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art collection as well as the Alberto Giacometti-Stiftung in Zürich and the Alberto and Annette Giacometti Foundation in Paris, which loaned more than 60 works, including rarely seen plasters. The exhibition also includes works by Giacometti’s younger brothers, Diego and Bruno, and their father Giovanni.
The exhibition is complemented by free audio guide commentary to several works in the show.
Video: Bechtler President and CEO John Boyer introduces viewers to the exhibition Giacometti: Memory and Presence.
Hans Bechtler (father of Bechtler Museum of Modern Art patron Andreas Bechtler) met Alberto Giacometti in 1957 while purchasing a sculpture by the artist at a Paris gallery. That sculpture, Femme Assise (Seated Woman), and its corresponding plaster are included in the exhibition Giacometti: Memory and Presence along with other Giacometti works acquired by the Bechtler family. Hans Bechtler went on to serve as founding president of the Alberto Giacometti-Stiftung in Switzerland for 25 years and was a champion of Giacometti’s work for the remainder of his life.
Hans Bechtler (left) and Alberto Giacometti, 1962. Photo from the Bechtler Collection.