Museum entry Comunale d’Arte Moderna
The Museo Comunale d'Arte Moderna in Ascona is hosting the first institutional exhibition in Switzerland by Joana Vasconcelos (1971), one of the most authoritative voices in contemporary international art. A participant in three editions of the Venice Biennale, she was the first woman to exhibit at the Palace of Versailles and the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. The exhibition, curated by Mara Folini and Alberto Fiz, has been specially designed for the museum's spaces and features a spectacular display of over 30 works, including installations, paintings, drawings, videos, and books. These trace the key stages of her creative journey from the early 1990s to the present day.
Renowned in particular for her monumental sculptures and immersive installations, Joana Vasconcelos decontextualizes everyday objects and redefines the concept of art, craft, and design. She establishes a renewed dialogue between the private sphere and public space, between folk traditions and high culture. With lightness and irony, she challenges the stereotypes surrounding mass society and the condition of women.
From June 15 to November 23, 2025
Description
The Municipal Museum of Modern Art in Ascona, located in a beautiful late 16th-century building overlooking Via Borgo in the heart of Ascona, houses the Collection of the Municipality and is home to two foundations: the Marianne Werefkin Foundation and the Richard and Uli Seewald Foundation.
The Collection of the Municipality originated in 1922 when many of the artists who came to Ascona decided to donate their works with the aim of creating the Municipal Museum of Ascona. Among the most important works are Alexej Jawlensky's "Head of a Girl," Cuno Amiet's "Fruit Collection," and Paul Klee's "The Red House," which were offered by the Russian painter Marianne Werefkin along with five of her own works.
But most notably, the museum hosts the collection of the Marianne Werefkin Foundation, which with approximately 90 paintings and 170 sketchbooks is by far the most important collection of this extraordinary artist, a key figure in the Blue Rider (Blaue Reiter) avant-garde movement. The Richard and Uli Seewald Foundation is also affiliated with the museum, which gathers works by the artist, a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich and a late member of the Orsa Maggiore group, as well as works from his private collection, including a beautifully rare Utrillo painting, a Klee artwork, a splendid drawing by Franz Marc, and a watercolor drawing by Kubin.