A Future for the Past: The Bührle Collection. Art, Context, War and Conflict

By Kunsthaus Zurich

Analyzes the history and the response to the controversial B hrle Collection at Kunsthaus Z rich.

Since 2021, the B hrle Collection has been on display at Kunsthaus Z rich, in the galleries of the museum's new extension building designed by David Chipperfield. The high-profile collection is widely perceived as problematic due to the personality of the collector, Emil Georg B hrle (1890-1956), who made his fortune as a weapons manufacturer and did extensive business with Nazi Germany. The provenance of some of the artworks in the collection is also controversial. The initial presentation at Kunsthaus Z rich sparked a heated debate. The second display, opened in 2023, provided more historical context and a broader insight into provenance research. It also included a range of public voices and gave a face to some of the Jewish former owners of artworks, many of whom were forced to sell.

A Future for the Past documents the B hrle Collection's history in words and images. At the core are the two recent exhibitions at Kunsthaus Z rich, arguably one of the most significant and most contested art shows in Switzerland in decades.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 3039423169
• ISBN13: 9783039423163
• Release Date: January 2027
• Publisher: Scheidegger and Spiess
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.