An elegant building, designed to “be at the service of art, and not vice-versa”, in the words of its designer. Thus, the Fondation’s museum, designed by Renzo Piano and located in Riehen near Basel, in the park of Villa Berower, was inaugurated in 1997. Expanded in 2000, it is a building in red porphyry supported by four parallel load-bearing walls, with large glass windows along the front and a winter garden on the western façade.

Filtered by the glass roof, natural light illuminates the 22 exhibition rooms, covering a total of 3,764 sq. metres, where Hildy and Ernst Beyeler's precious collection can be admired: today, more than 400 works by 75 artists, whose quality and selection offer a broad overview of modern and contemporary art, from van Gogh and Monet to Picasso, Miró, Mondrian and Klee to Rothko and Warhol, and Bourgeois to Dumas and Tillmans. Sculptures from Africa, Alaska and Oceania provide a counterpoint to the Western heritage in an exceptional dialogue that embraces new visions, also thanks to the staging of significant temporary exhibitions. One example is “CLOSE-UP”, which until 2 January 2022, investigates the female gaze in the art world, with the works of nine prominent women artists from 1870 to the present day, and “GOYA”, from 10 October to 23 January 2022, one of the most comprehensive exhibitions ever devoted to the painter.

Opening image: the museum building was built by Renzo Piano between 1994 and 1997 and then expanded between 1999 and 2000. (Photo Fondation Beyeler)