Kunsthaus Zürich's Alice Bailly exhibit ends

The Kunsthaus Zürich's exhibition celebrating the work of Swiss artist Alice Bailly concluded on February 15. The exhibit focused on the artist's contributions to abstraction and figuration within the Swiss modernist tradition.

- The exhibition featured 22 works, including oil paintings, works on paper, and Bailly's innovative "wool pictures," known as *tableaux-laine*. These pieces, once dismissed as craft, are now considered milestones of Swiss modernism for their unique texture and vibrant color. - Bailly developed her signature *tableaux-laine* between 1913 and 1922, creating about 50 pieces in total. This technique involved arranging short strands of colored yarn to mimic brushstrokes, blending traditional craft with modern art concepts and challenging the boundaries of painting. - Active in Paris from 1906, she was part of an avant-garde circle that included artists like Juan Gris, Francis Picabia, Sonia Delaunay, and Marie Laurencin, absorbing influences from Fauvism, Cubism, and Futurism. Her work was praised by the writer and critic Guillaume Apollinaire, who considered her a highlight of a 1913 salon. - Upon returning to Switzerland during World War I, she engaged with the Dada movement in Zurich and joined the Basel-based artist group 'Das Neue Leben' between 1918 and 1919. - In 1912, Bailly's work was selected to represent Switzerland in a major traveling exhibition that toured Russia, England, and Spain, establishing her international presence. - A significant late-career commission in 1936 involved creating eight large murals for the foyer of the Theatre of Lausanne, a monumental undertaking for a female artist at the time. - The Kunsthaus Zürich holds dozens of letters written by Bailly between 1913 and 1937, offering insights into her professional life, including correspondence about missing transport crates and requests for payment. - In her will, Bailly established a trust fund from the sale of her art to support and provide aid for young Swiss artists.

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