Galerie Gmurzynska is a commercial

art gallery An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The lon ...

based in Zurich, Switzerland, specializing in modern and

contemporary art Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic com ...

and work by the

Russian avant-garde The Russian avant-garde was a large, influential wave of avant-garde modern art that flourished in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, approximately from 1890 to 1930—although some have placed its beginning as early as 1850 and its e ...

. It became a popular venue for international collectors seeking Russian art that was banned by the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

regime, and, according to ''Artnet,'' became the "go-to place for Russian art for international collectors". The gallery buys and sells mostly works by modern and contemporary artists. It also sells pieces at art fairs by artists such as

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

Kurt Schwitters Kurt Hermann Eduard Karl Julius Schwitters (20 June 1887 – 8 January 1948) was a German artist who was born in Hanover, Germany. Schwitters worked in several genres and media, including dadaism, constructivism, surrealism, poetry, sound, pain ...

Fernand Léger Joseph Fernand Henri Léger (; February 4, 1881 – August 17, 1955) was a French painting, painter, sculpture, sculptor, and film director, filmmaker. In his early works he created a personal form of cubism (known as "tubism") which he gradually ...

Lyonel Feininger Lyonel Charles Feininger (July 17, 1871January 13, 1956) was a German-American painter, and a leading exponent of Expressionism. He also worked as a caricaturist and comic strip artist. He was born and grew up in New York City, traveling to Germa ...

, Robert and Sonia Delaunay, Stallone and Fernando Botero. The gallery works with the estates of

Yves Klein Yves Klein (; 28 April 1928 – 6 June 1962) was a French artist and an important figure in post-war European art. He was a leading member of the French artistic movement of Nouveau réalisme founded in 1960 by art critic Pierre Restany. Klein w ...

Wifredo Lam Wifredo Óscar de la Concepción Lam y Castilla (; December 8, 1902 – September 11, 1982), better known as Wifredo Lam, was a Cuban artist who sought to portray and revive the enduring Afro-Cuban spirit and culture. Inspired by and in conta ...

Louise Nevelson Louise Nevelson (September 23, 1899 – April 17, 1988) was an American sculptor known for her monumental, monochromatic, wooden wall pieces and outdoor sculptures. Born in the Poltava Governorate of the Russian Empire (present-day Kyiv Oblast, ...

, and

Robert Indiana Robert Indiana (born Robert Clark; September 13, 1928 – May 19, 2018) was an American artist associated with the pop art movement. His iconic image LOVE was first created in 1964 in the form of a card which he sent to several friends and acq ...

among others. It also arranged for an exhibition of

Sylvester Stallone Sylvester Enzio Stallone (; born Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone, ) is an American actor and filmmaker. After his beginnings as a struggling actor for a number of years upon arriving to New York City in 1969 and later Hollywood in 1974, h ...

at the Museum of Modern Art in Nice in 2015 and hosts the artwork of fashion designer

Karl Lagerfeld Karl Otto Lagerfeld (; 10 September 1933 – 19 February 2019) was a German fashion designer, creative director, artist and photographer. He was known as the creative director of the French fashion house Chanel, a position held from 1983 ...

and the architect

Richard Meier Richard Meier (born October 12, 1934) is an American abstract artist and architect, whose geometric designs make prominent use of the color white. A winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1984, Meier has designed several iconic buildings ...

. The gallery also publishes books and catalogues for its exhibitions.

History

Early years 1965-1986

The gallery was founded in 1965 in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

, Germany, by Antonina Gmurzynska, a Polish immigrant who worked in a museum before her move. It held an exhibition of Japanese art in its first year. The following year, the gallery presented the work of

David Burliuk David Davidovich Burliuk (Давид Давидович Бурлюк; 21 July 1882 – 15 January 1967) was a Russian-language poet, artist and publicist associated with the Futurist and Neo-Primitivist movements. Burliuk has been described as ...

. Until 1971, the gallery's program focused on the Russian avant-garde. Gallery founder Antonina Gmurzynska developed contacts with the artists' families, and allegedly helped to smuggle artwork that was banned by the Soviet regime out of Russia. In 1986, Antonina's daughter Krystina took over the business upon her mother's death, together with her business partner (sometimes called the "co-owner") Mathias Rastorfer. Gmurzynska's daughter, Isabelle Bscher, is also involved with the gallery for promotional purposes.

1990s

1993 saw ''The Other Reality'' exhibit by Frank Kupka, followed by two exhibits by Yves Klein in 1994 and 1995, named ''Le Dépassement de la Problématique de l'Art'' and ''The Spiritual in Art'' respectively. ''Rebellion Against Form'' by Joan Miró was exhibited in 1998.

2000s

''Spatial Constructions'' from Alexander Rodchenko and

Naum Gabo Naum Gabo, born Naum Neemia Pevsner (23 August 1977) (Hebrew: נחום נחמיה פבזנר), was an influential sculptor, theorist, and key figure in Russia's post-Revolution avant-garde and the subsequent development of twentieth-century scul ...

were exhibited by the gallery in 2001. An

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...

and Yves Klein exhibit, ''Natural – Unnatural'' was shown in 2002. In 2005, the gallery relocated from

to Switzerland and opened a gallery on

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

Paradeplatz Paradeplatz is a square on Bahnhofstrasse in downtown Zürich, Switzerland. It is one of the most expensive pieces of real estate in Switzerland and has become synonymous with wealth and the Swiss banks, being the location of the headquarters ...

. The gallery arranged with the building's owner to restore the facade, built in 1880, to its original style with large windows. The windows are glazed with armoured glass. That same year, the gallery participated in the Art Basel Miami Beach, during which its Yves Klein fire drawing from its Cologne gallery was valued at $1.6 million.

2010s

In 2010, the gallery held an exhibition entitled ''

Zaha Hadid Dame Zaha Mohammad Hadid ( ar, زها حديد ''Zahā Ḥadīd''; 31 October 1950 – 31 March 2016) was an Iraqi-British architect, artist and designer, recognised as a major figure in architecture of the late 20th and early 21st centu ...

and

Suprematism Suprematism (russian: Супремати́зм) is an early twentieth-century art movement focused on the fundamentals of geometry (circles, squares, rectangles), painted in a limited range of colors. The term ''suprematism'' refers to an abstra ...

'', which was designed and curated by Hadid and Patrik Schumacher. The installation was designed to be viewed through the gallery's window on Paradeplatz. Works displayed at the exhibition included

Kazimir Malevich Kazimir Severinovich Malevich ; german: Kasimir Malewitsch; pl, Kazimierz Malewicz; russian: Казими́р Севери́нович Мале́вич ; uk, Казимир Северинович Малевич, translit=Kazymyr Severynovych ...

's ''Red Square: Painterly Realism of a Peasant Woman in Two Dimension'', as well as paintings by

Ilya Chashnik Ilya Grigorevich Chashnik (1902, Lucyn, Russian Empire, currently Ludza, Latvia - 1929, Leningrad) was a suprematist artist, a pupil of Kazimir Malevich and a founding member of the UNOVIS school. Biography Chashnik was born to a Jewish family ...

and

Alexander Rodchenko Aleksander Mikhailovich Rodchenko (russian: link=no, Алекса́ндр Миха́йлович Ро́дченко; – 3 December 1956) was a Russian and Soviet artist, sculptor, photographer, and graphic designer. He was one of the founders ...

. The exhibit placed the influence of the Russian artists with Hadid's work. It was the first exhibition to connect Hadid with Suprematism art, according to ''

Wallpaper* ''Wallpaper'', stylized ''Wallpaper*'', is a publication focusing on design and architecture, fashion, travel, art, and lifestyle. The magazine was launched in London in 1996 by Canadian journalist Tyler Brûlé and Austrian journalist Alexander ...

''. At the 2014

Art Basel Art Basel is a for-profit, privately owned and managed, international art fair staged annually in Basel, Switzerland; Miami Beach; Hong Kong and from 2022, Paris. Art Basel works in collaboration with the host city's local institutions to help ...

in Miami Beach, to celebrate their 50th anniversary, the gallery's booth was designed by film director

Baz Luhrmann Mark Anthony Luhrmann (born 17 September 1962), known professionally as Baz Luhrmann, is an Australian film director, producer, writer and actor. With projects spanning film, television, opera, theatre, music and recording industries, he is re ...

, costume designer Catherine Martin and music producer

Nellee Hooper Nellee Hooper (born Paul Andrew Hooper on 15 March 1963) is a British record producer, remixer and songwriter known for his work with many major recording artists beginning in the late 1980s. He also debuted as a motion picture music composer w ...

. The exhibition was titled ''A Kid Could Do That!'' It featured works by twentieth-century artists such as

Joan Miró Joan Miró i Ferrà ( , , ; 20 April 1893 – 25 December 1983) was a Catalan painter, sculptor and ceramicist born in Barcelona. A museum dedicated to his work, the Fundació Joan Miró, was established in his native city of Barcelona i ...

, Kazimir Malevich,

Cy Twombly Edwin Parker "Cy" Twombly Jr. (; April 25, 1928July 5, 2011) was an American Painting, painter, Sculpture, sculptor and photographer. He belonged to the generation of Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns. Twombly is said to have influenced you ...

and Fancis Bacon. In February 2016, the gallery exhibited ''CHRISTO & Jeanne-Claude - Works in Progress''. Known mainly for their large-scale outdoor installations, the works shown in the gallery were part of projects including ''The Mastaba'' (Abu Dhabi), ''Over the River'' (Colorado), and ''Floating Piers'' (Lake Iseo in Northern Italy) represented through sketches, drawings and photo collages. The gallery had an exhibition of Robert Indiana's work in December 2014. During August 2016, the gallery held ''20th Century American Masters'', highlighting the influence of 20th century

American art Visual art of the United States or American art is visual art made in the United States or by U.S. artists. Before colonization there were many flourishing traditions of Native American art, and where the Spanish colonized Spanish Colonial arc ...

ists, with works of Robert Indiana as well. October 2016 saw the

Mel Ramos Melvin John Ramos (July 24, 1935 – October 14, 2018) was an American figurative painter, specializing most often in paintings of female nudes, whose work incorporates elements of realist and abstract art. Born in Sacramento, California, to ...

exhibit spanning his entire career at the Zug branch. In 2017, the gallery exhibited the personal art collection of Italian automotive heir

Jean Pigozzi Jean "Johnny" Pigozzi (born 1952), heir to the CEO of the automobile brand Simca, is an art collector, photographer, fashion designer and . He lives in Geneva. Biography Pigozzi is a "French-born Italian". He was born in Paris in 1952 and is ...

, consisting mostly of

sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...

n works. In 2018, Bulgarian-born artist

Christo Christo Vladimirov Javacheff (1935–2020) and Jeanne-Claude Denat de Guillebon (1935–2009), known as Christo and Jeanne-Claude, were artists noted for their large-scale, site-specific art, site-specific environmental art, environmental art i ...

presented the only remaining works related to the failed 1968 wrapping of the MoMA at the gallery.

Controversies

1993 smuggling of Nikolai Khardzhiev collection

The Galerie was involved in moving a major collection of documents, drawings and paintings by Russian Futurist artists estimated at around £100 million, belonging to

Nikolai Khardzhiev Nikolai Ivanovich Khardzhiev (ru: Харджиев, Николай Иванович, 26 June 1903, Russian Empire— 10 June 1996, Amsterdam, Netherlands) was a Ukrainian writer, literary and art collector. He possessed an extensive archive and coll ...

and his wife Lidia Chaga, from Moscow to Amsterdam. In 1993, Krystyna Gmurzynska and Mathias Rastorfer visited the Khardzhievs in Moscow, and signed agreements described by Rastorfer as “letters of intent” over $2.5 million in exchange for six works of Malevich art worth $30 million. The gallery arranged the packing and removal of the artworks, but then left the Khadzhievs in Amsterdam and cut off communications with them while retaining control of their collections. As reported in articles published in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' and the ''

New Left Review The ''New Left Review'' is a British bimonthly journal covering world politics, economy, and culture, which was established in 1960. History Background As part of the British "New Left" a number of new journals emerged to carry commentary on m ...

'', the Khardzhievs were duped.

Edelman v Gmurzynska insurance dispute

Between 2007 and 2009, Gmurzynska and Rastorfer were involved in a further dispute. Dealer Asher B. Edelman loaned a work to Gmurzynska that was returned damaged. Gmurzynska and Rastorfer ignored the claim. In 2009, a U.S. district court judge awarded Edelman a default judgment of $765,000 to which Gmurzynska and Rastorfer failed to respond, leading four of the Gmurzynska's paintings to be seized at the Miami Beach Art Fair and held for two days until the gallery paid the judgment. Edelman was awarded an additional $250,000 for what the judge described as the gallery's "wilful conduct" in the matter, i.e. their failure to respond to the lawsuit. Gmurzynska and Rastorfer disputed any wrongdoing, stating that "The gallery never received any notice that Mr. Edelman had applied for a default judgment".

2013 Hotel Dolder VAT evasion and gallery raid by Swiss Customs

In 2013, the gallery was raided by the Swiss Federal Customs Administration regarding

VAT A value-added tax (VAT), known in some countries as a goods and services tax (GST), is a type of tax that is assessed incrementally. It is levied on the price of a product or service at each stage of production, distribution, or sale to the en ...

on imported artworks worth 85M Swiss Francs supplied by the Gmurzynska gallery to the

Dolder Grand Hotel The Dolder Grand (formerly known as Grand Hotel Dolder) is a 5 star superior hotel in the Swiss city of Zürich. It is located on Adlisberg hill, some from, and above, the city centre. Built in 1899, the hotel spreads out over and offers 173 ro ...

, owned by

Urs Schwarzenbach Urs Ernst Schwarzenbach, CStJ (born 1948) is a UK-based Swiss financier. In May 2020, the '' Sunday Times'' estimated his net worth at £978 million. Early life Urs Schwarzenbach was born in Thalwil in 1948, and raised in Küsnacht. He i ...

. Documents and computers were seized as evidence while the Hotel Dolder was subject to a simultaneous raid. Gmurzynska filed a complaint in order to prevent their inspection, but the Federal Court has ruled that in a criminal investigation of this kind where there is reasonable suspicion, the prosecuting FCA can demand to see papers it considers relevant to the case. The evidence made available to journalists indicates that a sham company issuing fake bills was used to import the works via a bonded warehouse, enabling Schwarzenbach to avoid paying the required import duty. The case was reported in Zurich's leading newspaper, the ''Neue Zürcher Zeitung.''

2018 hiring of Benjamin Genocchio

In 2018, Gmurzynska Gallery drew attention when

Benjamin Genocchio Benjamin Genocchio (born 1969) is an Australian art critic and non-fiction writer. Since October 2019 he has been director-at-large for Shoshana Wayne in Los Angeles and New York. He worked as an art critic for ''The New York Times'', and then ...

became a partner, serving as vice president at the Gallery's New York branch. Genocchio was previously replaced as director of

the Armory Show The Armory Show is an international art fair in New York City, known as New York's Art Fair. Established in 1994 as the Gramercy International Art Fair by dealers Colin De Land, Pat Hearn, Lisa Spellman, Matthew Marks and Paul Morris, the annua ...

after multiple complaints of sexual harassment.

Artists

Exhibited artists have included: * Igor Baskakov * Rudolf Bauer *

Fernando Botero Fernando Botero Angulo (born 19 April 1932) is a Colombian figurative artist and sculptor, born in Medellín. His signature style, also known as "Boterismo", depicts people and figures in large, exaggerated volume, which can represent political ...

Anatol Brusilovsky Anatol is a masculine given name, derived from the Greek name Ἀνατόλιος ''Anatolius'', meaning "sunrise". The Russian version of the name is Anatoly (also transliterated as Anatoliy and Anatoli). The French version is Anatole (disambigua ...

Ronnie Cutrone Ronnie Cutrone (July 10, 1948 – July 21, 2013) was an American pop artist known for his large-scale paintings of some of America's favorite cartoon characters, such as Felix the Cat, Pink Panther, Woody Woodpecker and No Glove No Love. Style C ...

* Boris Ender * Maria Ender * Xenia Ender *

Haas Brothers The Haas Brothers was a Professional wrestling Tag team consisting of real life brothers Charlie and Russ Haas. The team was very successful in the independent wrestling circuit, but Russ's death on December 15, 2001 led to the end of the tag ...

*Zaha Hadid *Robert Indiana *

Allen Jones Allen Jones may refer to: *Allen Jones (Continental Congress) (1739–1798), Continental Congress delegate *Allen Jones (artist) (born 1937), British pop artist *Allen Jones (record producer) (1940–1987), American record producer * A.J. Styles (A ...

*Yves Klein *

Robert Klippel Robert Klippel AO (19 June 192019 June 2001) was an Australian constructivist sculptor and teacher. He is often described in contemporary art literature as Australia's greatest sculptor. Throughout his career he produced some 1,300 pieces of ...

Frank Kupka Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Curre ...

*Karl Lagerfeld *Wifredo Lam *

Mikhail Larionov Mikhail Fyodorovich Larionov (Russian: Михаи́л Фёдорович Ларио́нов; June 3, 1881 – May 10, 1964) was a Russian avant-garde painter who worked with radical exhibitors and pioneered the first approach to abstract Rus ...

Jani Leinonen Jani Leinonen (born 22 March 1978 in Hyvinkää) is a Finnish visual artist. Leinonen is known for his public artworks criticising capitalism by using the imagery and icons of corporate brands. He graduated from the Helsinki Academy of Fine Arts ...

*Kazimir Malevich *Richard Meier *Joan Miró *

*Pablo Picasso *

* Rotraut *Kurt Schwitters * David Smith *Sylvester Stallone *

Varvara Stepanova Varvara Fyodorovna Stepanova (russian: Варва́ра Фёдоровна Степа́нова; – May 20, 1958) was a Russian artist. With her husband Alexander Rodchenko, she was associated with the Constructivist branch of the Russian avant ...

Nikolai Suetin Nikolai Suetin (; 1897–1954) was a Russian Suprematist artist. He worked as a graphic artist, a designer, and a ceramics painter. Suetin studied at the Vitebsk Higher Institute of Art, (1918–1922) under Kazimir Malevich, founder of Suprema ...

Tom Wesselmann Thomas K. Wesselmann (February 23, 1931 – December 17, 2004) was an American artist associated with the Pop Art movement who worked in painting, collage and sculpture. Early years Wesselmann was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Cincinnati. From 1949 ...

Selected bibliography

*''Kurt Schwitters: Merz'' (2016) *''Robert Indiana: To Russia With Love'' (2016) *''Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Works in Progress'' (2016) *''Sylvester Stallone: Véritable Amour. Peintures 1975-2015'' (2015) *''BoteroSutra'' (2014) *''A Kid Could Do That!'' (2014) *''Robert Indiana: 50 Years of LOVE, Monumental Sculptures at 45 Park Lane'' (2014) *''Richard Meier: Timepieces'' (2014) *''Karl Lagerfeld'' (2013) *''Zaha Hadid and Suprematism'' (2012) *''Wifredo Lam'' (2012)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Galerie Gmurzynska Art museums and galleries in Switzerland