Minimal Art, Arte Povera, Abstract Expressionism

The 70 works chosen from the Looser Collection are an outstanding addition to the Kunsthaus Zürich. Of the three fundamental elements making up the long-term loan – Abstract Expressionism, Minimal Art and Arte Povera – the initial presentation focuses on the first two. Five exceptional works by the American artist Cy Twombly complement the important group already at the Kunsthaus. The Kunsthaus’s existing holdings of Abstract Expressionism by Mark Rothko, Barnett Newman and Jackson Pollock are juxtaposed with the works of David Smith, John Chamberlain and, in particular, Willem de Kooning, with an outstanding ensemble of five paintings by the latter (including a triptych from 1985) and two bronze sculptures, one of which is the masterpiece ‘Hostess’ from 1973. For the first time, the Kunsthaus is able to display a representative wall-mounted sculpture by Donald Judd. Ellsworth Kelly, whose graceful ‘White Curve’ transforms the large hall of the extension, has never before been so well represented at the Kunsthaus. Two pictures by Agnes Martin alongside a large painting by Sean Scully bring this important female abstract artist to the Kunsthaus for the first time.