Reflets sur une tombe

The painter Marc-Antoine Fehr follows the figurative tradition and draws inspiration from literature. His works are very distinctive, they are unmistakable, but also anachronistic and otherworldly. The artist works in the classic genres still-life, landscape, interior, and portrait. The sequences of monumental paintings or works on paper he produces are often based on cycles that sometimes remain incomplete. Numerous studies in pencil and pen or also gouache and oil proceed Fehr’s paintings. However, some of these studies serve the purpose of postprocessing or resemble journal entries.

The Museum Franz Gertsch has dedicated a substantial solo exhibition to the Swiss artist. The expansive rooms in Burgdorf enable an adequate presentation of the monumental works by the painter who is based both in Zurich and Burgundy. With works from the past 50 years to recently produced large formats, the exhibition takes a retrospective approach. Apart from a few loans from museums, the exhibits belong to the artist’s collection and have rarely been shown in Switzerland. Proceeding from the large format, the exhibition presents a cross section of the artist’s oeuvre, supplemented with medium- and small-sized paintings and leading to new pieces created especially for the show. A selection of works on paper is also part of the display.

Marc-Antoine Fehr was born into a family of artists in Zurich in 1953. The painter Marie-Hélène Clément was his mother, the painter Charles Clément from Vaud was his grandfather. Fehr came to art as an autodidact, but learned at his mother’s studio. Since the 1980s he has had an array of exhibitions at home and abroad and produced numerous publications. Fehr has received renowned prizes and grants, and his works can be found in well-known public and private collections. The artist lives and works in Burgundy, France, and Zurich, Switzerland.

Anna Wesle curated the exhibition in collaboration with the artist. A catalogue with essays by Beat Wismer and Katharina Holderegger will be published by modo Verlag, Freiburg i. Br.