Fondation Beyeler -Basel – The Reopening.

From Monday, 11 May, the Fondation Beyeler once again opens daily, with an exhibition devoted to the great American painter Edward Hopper and the collection display “Silent Vision – Images of Calm and Quiet”. With the coronavirus crisis, both exhibitions have gained unexpected and dramatic currency. In view of high visitor interest, they have been extended through 20th september 2020 and the end of November 2020 respectively.

The Fondation Beyeler has drawn up a comprehensive safety plan for visitors and employees in order to best implement the measures of the Swiss Confederation’s Covid-19 Ordinance. This includes limiting the number of visitors via online tickets with time slots as well as altering visitor flows in the park and in the museum with separate entry and exit points. All events are cancelled until further notice. Guided tours will take place in reduced form outside opening hours. The major “Goya” exhibition originally scheduled to open on 15 May is postponed to 10 October 2021

First experiences gathered since the museum’s reopening on 11 May show that the protection plan put in place allows for a safe and enjoyable visit. “Never before has so much Hopper been available for so few people”, jokes museum director Sam Keller, visibly delighted to see the museum come back to life.

Visitor and staff safety is our first priority.

Now as ever, the safety of our visitors and employees remains our first priority. This includes:

Limiting visitor numbers through online tickets with time slots, which can be booked on www.fondationbeyeler.ch. This also applies to all valid tickets already purchased as well as to holders of vouchers, various memberships and the BaselCard. More information is available on our website.

Modified visitor flow in the park and in the museum with separate entry and exit points

New welcome desk and cloakroom in museum outbuildings

Hand sanitiser dispensers for visitors and employees in several key locations within the museum

Additional cleaning and hygiene measures for the museum’s infrastructures

Edward Hopper, a “painter for our times” of coronavirus crisis

In the seven weeks up to the museum’s temporary closure in the wake of the coronavirus crisis, the “Edward Hopper” exhibition drew more than 100’000 enthusiastic visitors. In this short space of time, “Edward Hopper” was well on its way to becoming the museum’s best attended exhibition ever. The catalogue had sold out and had to be reprinted. Since then, many had taken to social media and contacting the museum to express their wish for the museum to reopen and the exhibition to be extended. The Whitney Museum of American Art in New York (the Fondation Beyeler’s partner for this exhibition) as well as the other American lenders had given their consent, making it possible to extend the exhibition in its original form.

During the coronavirus crisis, the international press and social media repeatedly referred to Edward Hopper as a painter for our times. Edward Hopper’s images are strongly reminiscent of situations and emotions currently experienced throughout the world: deserted cities and landscapes, physical and social distancing, isolation, loneliness, tense waiting and hoping, the enigmatic eeriness of our familiar surroundings, an invisible threat etc.

A tribute by Wim Wenders

The 3D short film Two or Three Things I Know about Edward Hopper by renowned German filmmaker Wim Wenders has been back on view since 8 June with safety measures in place. 21 film lovers at a time can enjoy the film, which is screened three times per hour. Separate entry and exit points have been arranged for the screening space.

Two or Three Things I Know about Edward Hopper is Wim Wenders’ personal tribute to Edward Hopper, who made a lasting impression on him and influenced his cinematic work just as he influenced other major directors, from Alfred Hitchcock to David Lynch.

“Silent Vision – Images of Calm and Quiet”

The collection display “Silent Vision – Images of Calm and Quiet” is also has been. It focuses on works of modern and contemporary art dealing with various aspects of calm and quiet – still lifes, contemplative landscapes, images of sleep and final rest. The exhibition showcases over 100 works by Claude Monet, Paul Cézanne, Pablo Picasso, Fernand Léger, Piet Mondrian, Hans Arp, Alberto Giacometti, Mark Rothko, Andy Warhol, Richard Serra, Gerhard Richter, Marlene Dumas and many others. During the forced interruption of the coronavirus crisis, this exhibition has also gained new significance. Those who yearn for a peaceful, emotionally sustaining museum visit will find great strength in silently viewing these images of calm and quiet.

Restaurant and Bistro BEY

The Beyeler Restaurant im Park has reopened as a self-service, with necessary measures implemented to meet safety distance requirements. Weather conditions permitting, visitors can also grab a picnic tote of their choice filled with delicacies from the restaurant’s kitchen and a blanket, allowing them to round off their museum visit with a picnic in the park. The Bistro BEY remains closed until further notice.

Fondation Beyeler park

In the past months of lockdown, being out in nature has acquired renewed value. The Fondation Beyeler’s expansive park, with its three water lily ponds, invites visitors to linger and take their time. Summer is here. Around the Lange Erlen, the landscape also allows for long walks. 

The “Edward Hopper” exhibition is organised by the Fondation Beyeler in cooperation with the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, the worldwide major repository of Hopper’s work.

Tickets can be booked online for specific time slots under:  www.fondationbeyeler.ch.

FONDATION BEYELER

BASEL, SWITZERLAND