Kunsthaus Zürich II, Sammlung Collection, Switzerland
The Looser and Merzbacher collections at Kunsthaus Zürich feature modern and contemporary art, including colorful paintings, abstract works, and sculptures. 1341
Kunsthaus Zurich: Heimpl. 1/5, 8001 Zürich, Switzerland
Date Picture Taken: Jun, 2026
The first floor of Kunsthaus Zürich houses the Looser and Merzbacher collections. The Looser Collection focuses on modern and contemporary art, including abstract paintings and sculptures. The Merzbacher Collection features colorful Impressionist and modern masterpieces by artists such as Van Gogh, Matisse, Kandinsky, and Picasso, offering two contrasting artistic perspectives.
The Looser Collection at Kunsthaus Zürich features modern and contemporary art assembled by Swiss collector Hubert Looser. It is particularly known for American Abstract Expressionism and modern sculpture, with works by Willem de Kooning, Cy Twombly, John Chamberlain and other major artists of the 20th century.
The Looser Collection is an important private collection of modern and contemporary art assembled by Swiss businessman and art collector Hubert Looser (born 1938). It includes paintings, drawings and sculptures by major European and American artists of the 20th century.
Unlike the Impressionist paintings in the Bührle Collection, the Looser Collection focuses largely on abstract art, experimentation and the relationship between painting and sculpture.
Hubert Looser began collecting art in the 1970s. Over several decades, he assembled a collection with particular emphasis on American postwar art and its connections with European modernism.
He established the Hubert Looser Foundation to preserve his collection and make it accessible to the public. A substantial selection is on long-term loan to Kunsthaus Zürich, where it is displayed in the museum's newer extension.
Joan Miró was a Spanish Surrealist artist known for his colorful abstract paintings filled with playful shapes, stars, birds and imaginary creatures. His distinctive style combines simple forms with dreamlike imagery, making his works among the most recognizable examples of 20th-century modern art.
René Magritte was a Belgian Surrealist painter known for combining everyday objects in unexpected ways. His realistic yet mysterious paintings challenge our perception of reality and encourage viewers to question what they see.
Cy Twombly (1928–2011): An American artist whose paintings and sculptures often incorporate scribbles, handwritten marks and references to classical mythology.
This gallery explores the relationship between nature, mythology and contemporary art. Giuseppe Penone uses natural materials such as leaves and branches to create installations that engage the senses, while Anselm Kiefer draws inspiration from ancient mythology and history to produce large-scale artworks.
The Gesture and Structure gallery features abstract works by Sean Scully, Willem de Kooning, Fabienne Verdier and Richard Long. Their art explores the relationship between expressive brushstrokes, geometric forms and nature, ranging from colorful abstract paintings to sculptures created with natural materials.
The Arte Povera gallery explores unconventional approaches to modern art. Giuseppe Penone uses natural forms such as branches, bark and fingerprints to examine the relationship between humans and nature. Lucio Fontana challenges traditional painting by creating holes and openings in his canvases, introducing actual space into his artworks.
The Nature – Myth – Abstraction exhibition presents the Hubert Looser Collection, featuring American and European art created after 1945. It brings together Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism, Minimal Art and Arte Povera, with works exploring nature, mythology and abstraction through paintings, sculptures and installations.
The Merzbacher Collection at Kunsthaus Zürich features colorful masterpieces of Impressionist and modern art assembled by Swiss collectors Werner and Gabrielle Merzbacher. It includes paintings by Van Gogh, Monet, Matisse, Kandinsky, Picasso and Chagall, tracing the development of modern European art through its innovative use of color and form.
