The visual arts in Liechtenstein are characterised by a great variety of artistic forms of expression, such as painting, sculpture, photography, installation, performance and film. The Cultural Foundation’s financial support is highest in this cultural sector, at 11 per cent for “visual arts” as well as 10 per cent for the “English Building Art Space” (see 1.3.1). In 2019, the state allocated CHF 494,528 for this purpose.
There are a number of opportunities for the presentation, teaching and marketing of the visual arts in Liechtenstein at the Liechtenstein Art Museum, the English Building Art Space, museums and cultural centres in the villages of Liechtenstein (state and municipalities), public and private exhibition houses with their own collections (society) and a number of private galleries (market).
Since 2001, galleries from Liechtenstein have also exhibited at the Art Bodensee art fair. The exclusive selection of modern and new art includes impressive works by renowned artists as well as paintings, collages and drawings by promising newcomers.
Looking beyond the national borders within the Lake Constance region is always important for Liechtenstein. For example, the exhibition “Heimspiel” takes place every three years. The competition, which is open to the public, welcomes artists from the Swiss cantons of Appenzell Ausserrhoden and Appenzell Innerrhoden, Glarus, St. Gallen and Thurgau, as well as the Principality of Liechtenstein and the Austrian province of Vorarlberg. The exhibition rotates among different art institutions.
The Liechtenstein School of Fine Arts (see 1.2.5, 1.3.1, 1.3.3 and 2.8) aims to promote the creative abilities of all and to establish itself as a hub for art and artists. For students of the preliminary design course, it offers study trips to European cultural centres.
Arts and crafts highlight craft and technical interest, and they serve a practical purpose, as one example from Liechtenstein shows. Thus, in the Schaedler ceramics workshop in Nendeln, the old tradition of shaping, moulding and firing objects from fired clay has been preserved. The pottery studio now produces small series and unique ceramic pieces. In 2013, on the occasion of the exhibition “Ilya Chashnik”, the Liechtenstein Art Museum collaborated with the Schädler ceramics workshop and the collection of the “Sepherot Foundation” to release five previously unrealised ceramic designs for plates by Ilya Chashnik in a limited and exclusive ceramic edition of 50 copies each.
Comments are closed.