PostPac ART II

Sous la Surface

From 8 April, the new PostPac ART will be showcased under this title in Swiss Post branches and in the Postshop. The artistically designed PostPac ART is available in the popular Size 2. The Swiss Post Art Committee has once again made its selection from a high-level competition of invited entries. Renowned photographer Douglas Mandry won over the jury with a topic close to his heart: glaciers and their significance for our ecosystem. With the second PostPac ART, Swiss Post is once again setting an example for promoting contemporary art in Switzerland in a way that will be very visible to people in their everyday lives.

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Exhibition collaboration to mark 100 years of Swiss Post art patronage begins with an exhibition at the Grisons Museum of Fine Arts in Chur

Since 1924, Swiss Post has played a major role in promoting and collecting contemporary art. Its collection of over 400 works demonstrates a comprehensive commitment to art that goes far beyond merely purchasing artworks, constituting a leading role in the promotion of art and culture.

The three core initiatives established by Swiss Post in 2020 cover the art collection, art in architecture and Swiss Post’s partnership with “Art in the periphery” events. A particular highlight is the exhibition collaboration with selected Swiss art institutions that was established in 2024 to mark 100 years of Swiss Post patronage. The first exhibition will open in May 2024 at the Grisons Museum of Fine Arts in Chur.

Selected works from the Swiss Post art collection will be showcased at the Grisons Museum of Fine Arts. The works will appear in dialogue with the museum collection and specific loaned items, with the focus on Swiss Post’s commitment to art and the key sentiments of communication. As well as the collections in museums, there are some significant public art collections in Switzerland that are less well known and are rarely seen by the public. This includes the Swiss Post art collection, which dates back to a federal ordinance on the elevation and promotion of Swiss art. For Swiss Post, this longstanding tradition of patronage is the perfect occasion to offer insights into its comprehensive collection activities through its collaboration with Swiss art institutions.

The exhibition “FRAGILE – die Kunstsammlung der Post im Dialog mit Werken aus dem Bündner Kunstmuseum Chur (FRAGILE – the Swiss Post art collection in dialogue with works from the Grisons Museum of Fine Arts in Chur)” will be open from 18 May to 25 August 2024.

Image: Copyright © Roman Signer, Courtesy the artist, Häusler Contemporary, photo: Aleksandra Signer

Cooperation: Robert Walser Center’s “Bureau Bollito” and Swiss Post’s commitment to art

Swiss Post has been committed to promoting artistic work in Switzerland for 100 years. It was therefore quite logical for Swiss Post to join with the Robert Walser Center and become partner to the “Bureau Bollito” project in 2024.

The office and the visual arts were some of Robert Walser’s favourite themes. He had first-hand experience of both: as a trained office assistant and brother of the painter Karl Walser. The “Bureau Bollito” exhibition, which will be open until the end of 2024, connects these two worlds.

As part of “Bureau Bollito”, the Robert Walser Center is inviting seven artists to exhibit their work in its office spaces and selected partner institutions such as Swiss Post. The works will not be exhibited in a museum, commercial or private environment, but in a work environment.

One of the “Bureau Bollito” artists, Fabian Marti, is creating a fascinating photographic wallpaper containing the distinctive creatures from the series “Green Paintings of a White Poodle Playing With a Yellow Octopus”. Two of his works have been part of the Swiss Post art collection for a number of years. In honour of Bern’s Gallery Weekend, this artistic wallpaper will adorn the row of counters in PostParc and the entrance to the auditorium in Swiss Post’s headquarters from 13 January 2024.

More on the “Bureau Bollito” group exhibitionTarget not accessible

Art card booklet «Art in architecture» works

Most Swiss Post art in architecture works are from previous decades. We wanted to bring them into the here and now and display them in a contemporary environment. Who was better suited to the task than artist Maria Pomiansky? She has artistically reinterpreted the works with an eagle eye and a dash of humour.

The Swiss Post Art Department tasked Maria Pomiansky with depicting selected works from the portfolio. Pomiansky got to work directly on site with vibrantly coloured felt-tip pens in hand.

Their contemporary interpretations are available as card sets. In addition, all “architectural art” works on site have been given QR codes so that interested parties can access relevant information.

Go to the Swiss Post shop

Swiss Post has been promoting Swiss artists since 1924, i.e. for almost 100 years. More info at: www.swisspost.ch/commitment-to-art

Concrete as a symbol for art

In 2020, Swiss Post realigned its traditional commitment to art based on three pillars. After the issue of two previous stamps dedicated to art collection and art in the periphery, now comes the third in the series: art in architecture. The stamp design represents a concrete wall. It symbolizes both newer construction per se and buildings in general. The design also hints at the role concrete has played in the history of architecture. Concrete helped this type of art, previously seen by most people as “architectural decoration”, to become an art form in its own right. To give the stamp a tactile dimension, cement pigments have been added to the ultra-matt finish.

Go to the Swiss Post shop

Swiss Post has been promoting Swiss artists since 1924, i.e. for almost 100 years. More info at: www.swisspost.ch/commitment-to-art

George Steinmann commission:

“Rhizome”

As part of its refocused commitment to art, Swiss Post is continuing with its sponsorship of contemporary art. In addition to buying works from galleries and artists, it is now also commissioning works from artists.
Artist George Steinmann created a specific work for Swiss Post in 2022 entitled “Rhizome”.

While working on “Rhizome”, George Steinmann roamed forests and moorlands. He dedicated himself to the medicinal plants, lichens, berries, spring water and minerals. From them, he always extracts the colours for his art. This means that all his works are direct reflections of the nature he studies. He finds rhizomatic structures (the root systems of plants) particularly fascinating because of their interconnections, which are comparable to our own social networks. It is not surprising that the works he created for Swiss Post were made with nettle juice, fern juice or even with blueberry juice and minerals. The paper was produced by the artist himself using water from the Carola mineral spring in Tarasp.

This commission resulted in seven works that are now found at the Swiss Post headquarters in Bern Wankdorf.

More information on George Steinmann

Artist, George Steinmann (1950, Bern)

George Steinmann is a visual artist, musician and researcher. He works on a trans-disciplinary basis, conducting field research and exploring issues of cultural sustainability, climate change, and biodiversity. His meticulously documented research and findings give rise to multi-layered works on paper, photographs and installations.

Artworks from an art collection that you can send

We have created folding cards of three selected artworks from Swiss Post’s art collection. These cards provide a direct insight into the collection, which today comprises around 400 works. We would like all who are interested to be able to experience the collection and would be delighted if many of the cards are sent. By the way, the cards are also available in selected museum shops and, of course, in the Postshop.

The following folding cards with envelope are available:

• “In my Garden”, 2015 by Miriam Cahn
• “Strange Plant I”, 2015 by huber.huber – Markus and Reto Huber
• “Flower Print”, 1997–1998 by Fischli/Weiss

The cards can be purchased individually or as a set of three.

“Swiss Post’s commitment to art” set of cards | buy at postshop.ch

Swiss Post has been promoting Swiss artists since 1924, i.e. for almost 100 years.

More info at: www.swisspost.ch/commitment-to-art

PostPac ART

BIRDS SING IN THEIR SLEEP

The practical PostPac is available in various sizes at Swiss Post branches. The artistically designed PostPac ART packaging, which resulted from an invitation-based competition, has now been added to the range. Photographer Ester Vonplon impressed the jury with her “Singen Vögel im Schlaf” (Birds sing in their sleep) project proposal. Swiss Post’s commitment to art is making its mark on the everyday lives of the public through this first PostPac ART packaging.

More information about PostPac ART and the designer

Set of picture postcards «Biennale»

For Bregaglia Biennale 2022, Jirka Makovec (born 1977) and Jiajia Zhang (born 1981) have turned their attention, and their cameras, to the particularities of day-to-day life in the Bregaglia valley. The pictures the two artists took during their forays into the valley have been turned into a series of ten postcards, which will assume its own artistic position in the Bregaglia Biennale 2022. One of the strengths of Makovec & Zhang is their keen observation of what is right in front of us. The medium of the postcard will spread their photographic analysis out into the wider world and to areas beyond the usual reach of the art scene.

The postcard set is made up of 10 pictures by the artists Jiří Makovec and Jiajia Zhang.

The project was created for the Bregaglia Biennale 2022 in cooperation with Swiss Post as part of its commitment to art.

Set of picture postcards «Biennale» | buy at postshop.ch

biennale-bregaglia.ch

A completely natural and ‘living’ stamp

For this special stamp, artist Monica Ursina Jäger chose “Meadow” as the theme. “The design perfectly illustrates the overlap between the natural habitat and cultural achievement,” says the artist. This means that meadows are also suitable for art projects.

The print’s special feature is the colour used: it’s the first stamp ever printed with chlorophyll pigments – in other words the substance responsible for the green colour of plants. This means the stamp is completely natural and ‘living’. The green will change over time depending on the effect of light.

The stamp’s special printing process is shown in a short film. More information

Swiss Post brochure x STUDIO Magazine

Hardly any members of the public know about Swiss Post’s art collection, and Swiss Post wants to change that. The art collection’s cooperation with the cutting-edge Swiss magazine, “STUDIO”, is the first step in this direction. “STUDIO MAGAZINE” is aimed at a young and trend-conscious audience with an interest in photography, styling, fashion, design and art. It is precisely this target group that we want to surprise by providing an insight into Swiss Post’s art collection. The April 2021 edition of “STUDIO MAGAZINE” includes a special brochure which presents selected works by young artists from Swiss Post’s collection.

Are you interested in the special brochure? If so, send your contact details to kunst@swisspost.ch. Our Art Department will be pleased to send you a copy.

A clear message to the art world

A blank canvas? Isn’t there a design missing? What is Swiss Post trying to tell us with this special stamp – which is undoubtedly the right name for it? The answer to the puzzle is as striking as it is obvious.

Canvas is the classic backcloth for paintings and, as such, has come to symbolize art in general. Because it’s blank, it represents art not yet created – perhaps due to a lack of funding. Swiss Post has been promoting and collecting contemporary art since 1924.

Switzerland has never had a stamp made purely of canvas before. That’s why a making-of film was also produced for this very special stamp.

Magazine k+a Architectural art at Swiss Post

Did you know that lots of Swiss Post’s branches and buildings in Switzerland are home to fascinating local works of art? The theme of the December 2020 issue of the magazine “Kunst + Architektur in der Schweiz” was “Art in architecture at Swiss Post”.

Are you interested in Swiss Post buildings and art in architecture? Order the magazine conveniently from the Postshop.