Art to See: The exhibitions we wouldn't want to miss in Switzerland this autumn

Things get interesting in Swiss museums from mid-October onwards. Not because blockbuster exhibitions suddenly open everywhere, but because the program is unusually well-balanced, featuring big names, new perspectives, and some works that aren't seen all the time.

From Zurich via Basel to Lausanne: This is our edit for the coming weeks – for a free Sunday afternoon, a trip to Basel or the next November day when there's little reason not to go to a museum anyway.

Zurich: Maria Lassnig & Edvard Munch

Kunsthaus Zürich · until February 21, 2027

Everyone knows Edvard Munch. Perhaps Maria Lassnig too. But the two have never been seen together before.

The Kunsthaus is bringing their works into direct dialogue for the first time. Around 150 works demonstrate how similarly both artists explored themes of body, perception, emotion, and inner states – despite more than half a century separating them. The exhibition becomes particularly interesting where Munch suddenly appears less historical and Lassnig less contemporary. It's an exhibition where the juxtaposition truly transforms something.

(Source: Kunsthaus Zürich)

Last chance: Vilhelm Hammershøi

Anyone wanting to see Hammershøi only has until October 25th . Empty rooms, subdued light, doors, figures seen from behind – paintings in which almost nothing happens, and yet, precisely for that reason, so much lingers in the mind. The Kunsthaus is presenting the first comprehensive museum exhibition of the Danish painter's work in Switzerland.

(Source: Kunsthaus Zürich)

Zurich: The Body Within Abstraction

Museum Haus Konstruktiv · until January 10, 2027

Abstraction initially sounds like line, surface, and geometry. The Body Within Abstraction starts from a different point: with the body.

To mark its 40th anniversary, Haus Konstruktiv is bringing together works by artists including Heidi Bucher, Eva Fàbregas, Kimsooja, Bruce Nauman, Chiharu Shiota, and Franz West . This makes the exhibition more spatial, material, and physical than one might spontaneously associate with the term "constructivist." It's also a good reason to revisit this relatively new location in the Löwenbräukunst complex .

(Source: Museum Haus Konstruktiv)

Riehen: Ruth Asawa

Fondation Beyeler · October 18, 2026 to January 10, 2027

One of the exhibitions we would definitely put on our list for this autumn.

The Fondation Beyeler is presenting the first retrospective of Ruth Asawa's work in Europe . The exhibition focuses on her characteristic wire sculptures – transparent forms that simultaneously possess volume and allow the space around them to be seen. It also includes drawings, prints, paintings, bronzes, and works for public spaces.

Asawa's work naturally moves between art and craft, discipline and lightness. Perhaps that is precisely why it seems so contemporary today.

And while you're there: Constellations is almost equally relevant. With this exhibition, the Fondation opens its expanded complex, including Peter Zumthor's new Wyss Museum . Around 230 works are spread throughout the buildings and the park – from Monet and Picasso to Giacometti and Rothko, and on to Louise Bourgeois and Wolfgang Tillmans. Here, architecture is not just a backdrop, but an integral part of the visit.

(Source: Fondation Beyeler)

Basel: Van Gogh, Hodler and a convertible

Kunstmuseum Basel · until February 7, 2027

The title sounds almost too good to be true, but it works.

The focus is on Gertrud Dübi-Müller : collector, photographer, mountaineer, motorist and a personality who moved through the European art world of her time with astonishing ease.

The exhibition brings together around 80 works from her circle and collection – including Van Gogh, Cézanne, Klimt, Giacometti, and Hodler – along with photographs, letters, and personal documents. What's fascinating is less the classic "big names" principle than the woman behind them: Who actually collected these works, how did the relationships develop, and what role did she herself play within this network?

For those who still haven't had enough: In the same building , Roy Lichtenstein's "Sweet Dreams, Baby!" is running, a concentrated exhibition of his printmaking with around 50 works.

(Source: Kunstmuseum Basel)

Bern: Journey to Freedom

Kunstmuseum Bern · 30 October 2026 to 31 January 2027

Capri. Skagen. Monte Verità.

Three places that attracted people between 1830 and 1930 who wanted to get away: from industrialized cities, from social conventions, towards nature, community and a supposedly more authentic life.

The exhibition "Journey to Freedom" does not view these artists' colonies solely through a romantic lens. Alongside idealized landscapes, it also depicts the work, poverty, and the reality that lay behind these idyllic images.

Perhaps that's precisely the interesting part: Many of the questions – connection to nature, alternative lifestyles, self-determination – suddenly seem surprisingly relevant.

Also worth seeing is Franz Gertsch's "Blow-Up (Part I) ." The retrospective in Bern showcases six decades of his work and is particularly well-suited for anyone interested in the boundary between photography and painting.

(Source: Kunstmuseum Bern)

Lausanne: Ted Joans: Black Flower

MCBA · until February 28, 2027

Perhaps the less obvious pick in this selection.

The MCBA is dedicating its first monographic exhibition to Ted Joans . The American artist and poet moved between Surrealism, Jazz, Pan-Africanism and Black Power – and his work defies easy categorization.

Alongside literature and poetry, drawings, collages, and experimental films were created, much of which has received little public attention to date. Black Flower is therefore less another exhibition of an established, canonical name than an opportunity to rediscover a unique artistic voice.

And: After that, you're already on Platform 10 anyway – enough material for a whole afternoon.

(Source: Musée cantonal des Beaux-Arts Lausanne / MCBA)

The DAPPO take

Our favorite for a day trip : Ruth Asawa plus Constellations in Riehen. For a spontaneous afternoon in Zurich : Lassnig/Munch followed by Löwenbräu. And for an exhibition that's a little less obvious: Ted Joans in Lausanne.

The art season doesn't have to become a checklist. It's better to really see two exhibitions than to tick off eight. The best ones are usually the ones where you're still talking about a single artwork afterwards!