My first time ... at the Kunsthalle Zürich

Editor Simone Liedtke

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Two rooms of art, one reduced to a minimum, the other full of historical details. In between, a staircase as a colourful collage.

The industrial wasteland of the former Löwenbräu brewery is well known to me from my younger years. A few legendary parties took place here in the 1990s, which I can still remember very well. Back then, the buildings were still in the centre of the industrial district. Galleries, off-spaces and illegal bars had settled in the area. A Swiss art scene gradually emerged from the subculture, which was provocative and didn't just invest in established culture. With the opening of the Löwenbräukunst area in 1996, this art scene found its home. The first tenants were a few galleries, the Migros Museum of Contemporary Art and the Kunsthalle. Today, the Löwenbräu Areal has blossomed into an institution that is also home to the big players on the gallery scene.

The Kunsthalle Zürich was founded in 1985 and is non-commercial. It organises six to eight exhibitions a year. The reception room is located on the second floor and displays the full splendour of the former industrial building: gigantic steel beams, huge window fronts and high loft rooms. Two video exhibitions are shown in the light-flooded room, which deal with folk dance in very different ways.

Maggie Lee's exhibition is located one floor up. The wall in the stairwell is plastered to the top with posters from all of the Kunsthalle Zürich's past exhibitions. The upper exhibition space, on the other hand, is completely neutral. The concrete floor, walls and ceilings are white. Two narrow windows, covered in colour. A room that lends itself perfectly to the multimedia presentation of Maggie Lee's subtle art. Thanks to a detailed guided tour, I received a lot of additional information that opened up new aspects of viewing. A worthwhile detour into the Zurich art scene with plenty of industrial chic and international contemporary art.