A Brief (Oral) History of the Löwenbräu
In Celebration of its 25th Anniversary
During nine months, from April to December 2021, weekly 60 second-clips will be published on the Instagram account of Löwenbräu-Kunst introducing 36 artists, directors, curators, critics, who have exhibited their art or simply built a relationship with it in the past 25 years, but also visitors who share personal memories representing two and a half decades of action. The goal is to create a short oral history of the place and related (forgotten) moments.
Curated by Gianni Jetzer
Sarah Morris
Bernhard Mendes Bürgi
Bernhard Mendes Bürgi played an important role together with @reinwolfs in founding #lowenbraukunst 25 years ago as director of @kunsthallezurich
Listen to his memorable memories while working on the opening show in 1996 with Mexican artist Gabriel Orozco.
Rein Wolfs
Memorable Memories #012: Rein Wolfs, currently at the helm of the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, was the founding director of Migros Museum back in 1996.
Bob van Orsouw
Bob van Orsouw is a founding member of the Löwenbräu. He had a gallery in the building for 20 years (until 2016) showing artists such as Armen Eloyan, Nobuyoshi Araki, Sylvie Fleury, and Julian Opie.
Fredi Fischli und Niels Olsen
Curatorial duo Fredi Fischli and Niels Olsen were teenagers when #lowenbraukunst opened 25 years ago, still, they remember!
mit Eva Presenhuber
Since the beginning gallerist Eva Presenhuber @galerieevapresenhuber played an important role for #löwenbräukunst with the presentation of outstanding shows. Listen to one of her most memorable memories…
25 years löwenbräu - Joep van Lieshout
Another key artist for #löwenbräukunst is sculptor Joep van Lieshout, the founder of @atelier_van_lieshout who realized several spectacular projects with multiple partners under our roof @bobvanorsouw @migrosmuseum @reinwolfs @daroscollection #25jahrelöwenbräu
Memorable Memories #007 Heike Munder, Director of Migros Museum, the contemporary art museum that has been founded in 1996 in Löwenbräu, another birthday kid! 🎉🤗
Next chapter in our oral history for #25yearslowenbrau. Peter Kilchmann was one of the founding galleries back in 1996 and eventually moved out in 2010 after having realized many successful shows in the former brewery. He was one of the first galleries to show Mexican artist Santiago Sierra in Europe.
Daniel Baumann, Director and Curator of the Kunsthalle Zürich since 2014 … Listen to his memories regarding #25yearslowenbrau way before he was at the helm of the prestigious institution.
Her name: Esther Eppstein, Zurich’s alternative space queen. Her message salon was THE off space for years, now she is nomadic and therefore carries the title of an ambassador. Listen to the winner of the Meret Oppenheim 2021 whose seminal piece Caravan entered the collection of Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst.
Since her beginnings in the early 1980s Pipilotti Rist has taken the art world by storm making a name for herself with mesmerizing video installations. During her hugely successful solo show at Kunsthalle Zurich in 1999 people were queuing up in the staircase before opening hours. Enjoy her signature style anniversary message!
Our next guest in the series Memorable Memories for 25 years Löwenbräu comes from Mexico City. His name: Carlos Amorales. He performed the Devil Dance at the Daros Collection in 2006, but also showed previously at the Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst where his alter ego wrestler staged the artistic fight Amorales vs. Amorales.
Olaf Breuning is our first guest in the series Memorable Memories to commemmorate the 25th anniversary of Löwenbräu.
Breuning, who had a solo show in 2007 at the Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst lives in Kerhonkson, upstate New York.