The Gran­tees

The Grantees
An exhibition at Marienstrasse 8, Bern
Hans Stalder, Inga Steffens, Dorothe Sauter, Christine Streuli, Irene Schubiger, Selina Lutz, Jerry Haenggli, Luca Nejedly, Christoph Gugger, Samuel Blaser, Marius Lüscher
Opening: October 15, 2021, 6 p.m
For a few years now, a group of painters has been meeting once a month to discuss art and painting in particular. The meetings take place in the studio of one of the members to discuss the invitee's most recent images and review the evolution of the work since the last visit. This has resulted in an intensive dialogue over the years.
The group was founded in early 2017 by Samuel Blaser and Hans Stalder. The six members [Hans Stalder, Inga Steffens, Luca Nejedly, Samuel Blaser, Christoph Gugger, Marius Lüscher] are of different ages and live in Bern and Basel.
Stylistically and conceptually, the works of the painters differ greatly. Representational and abstract positions are represented. Different techniques and conceptual approaches are applied. But in the practice of painting there are always themes that concern and interest everyone. A common language for specific questions and problems related to painting practice has developed over the years. Color on canvas on a limited area is the starting point for joint discussions and image viewing. Hans Stalder always likes to quote Robert Rauschenberg: "I guess it's with paint and brushes."
At the end of 2019, Hans Stalder started to think about the idea of curating an exhibition with the members of the group. Different positions in painting should meet. Today there is no singular trend in contemporary painting. Different approaches and conceptual positions should be shown side by side and open for discussion.
Over time, it became clear to us that we wanted to expand the group for the exhibition and also want to show positions that go into the three-dimensional and broaden the view of painting.
We see ourselves not only as painters but also as artists. So it's not just an exhibition of paintings, but the starting point is the intensive preoccupation over the past few years with different forms of contemporary painting and beyond.
This exhibition was made possible thanks to the generous support of the Pollock Krasner Foundation in New York. The title The Grantees also refers to this, which means something like the scholarship holders or the beneficiaries.
The exhibition can be seen until Saturday October 30, 2021.
Opening times: Friday 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., or by appointment

Marienstrasse 8, 3005 Bern, stop Helvetiaplatz, bus no. 19 / tram no. 6, 7, 8