Zurich’s Best Contemporary Art Galleries

In 2005, while celebrating its 40th anniversary, Galerie Gmurzynska relocated its headquarters from Germany to Switzerland. The gallery now boasts three exhibition spaces across Switzerland – in Zurich, Zug and St. Moritz – and prides itself on presenting a number of museum-quality exhibitions each year. Although it is widely considered as a pioneer in the field of the Russian avant-garde, Galerie Gmurzynska’s focus actually lies more generally in contemporary art, and embraces artists as diverse as architect Zaha Hadid, painter Fernando Botero, and Yves Klein, the foremost exponent of nouveau realism. With a history of over 150 exhibitions and numerous published catalogues, Galerie Gmurzynska is at the forefront of Switzerland’s contemporary art and continues to produce carefully curated shows from its central location on Zurich’s prestigious Paradeplatz.

Galerie Francesca Pia is known for the discovery and promotion of emerging artists. Owner and director Francesca Pia often relies on her own intuition when selecting the works to be featured, and rightly so. Her sense for picking fascinating, thought-provoking works must be at least partly due to her artistic upbringing and education. Pia opened her current gallery in 2012, choosing to locate it right next to Kunsthalle Zurich in Löwenbrau, a former brewery that is now home to Zurich’s lively contemporary art scene. The exhibitions shift between group and solo shows, and present the works of both international and Swiss artists, such as Lausanne-based Philippe Decrauzat whose works flirt with perspective, color and geometry, and established German artist Thomas Bayrle, who uses his background in graphics to create mesmerizing installations and illustrations.

With gallery spaces in Zurich, London, New York and Somerset, Hauser & Wirth is a widely respected gallery that aims to showcase the best of modern art from across the world. The impressive exhibition programme at the Zurich space presents around ten exhibitions per year, all featuring museum-quality works. Recent shows include a rare look into German artist Martin Eder’s sculptural work, a video and sound installation by Peruvian David Zink Yi, and an exhibition of works by Polish painter Wilhelm Sasnal, whose dynamic social commentary shines through his stark palette. Nestled in the Löwenbrau complex, directly in the heart of Zurich’s most dynamic art complex, Hauser & Wirth continues to be a household name on Switzerland’s contemporary art scene.

The Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst is both a traditional museum with a high quality art collection, and a pioneering center for contemporary art. The museum exhibits numerous important, contemporary artists from the 1960s onwards, holding four to five exhibitions per year, all of which are organized in close cooperation with the artists involved. Featured artists, such as Jimmie Durham, along with Andrea Fraser and Esther Eppstein, participate in artist talks and events, in line with the museum’s educational focus.

The Heidi Weber Museum was built by and is dedicated to the works of Swiss architect Le Corbusier, and showcases his architectural and artistic accomplishment that spans sculpture, painting, furniture design and writing, in a single and self-inclusive work of art. The fruit of a longstanding collaboration between the artist and Heidi Weber, a Swiss gallerist, the museum is a stunning example of Le Corbusier’s work that highlights his lifelong dedication to modern form, spatial proportion and sensibility. A walk through the art space marks an entrance into his world and reveals much about the architect’s technical prowess and creativity. Established two years after Le Corbusier’s death, in 1957, the museum is perched on the shore of Lake Zurich in the city’s Seefeld neighborhood.

Located in the same building as Zurich’s artistic giants: the Migros Museum, Kunsthalle Zurich and Hauser & Wirth, the much smaller Galerie Bob Van Orsouw still manages to impress with its fresh approach to contemporary art. Despite its modest beginnings in 1988 as a small art space in a private flat, the gallery has grown into a key player on Zurich’s art scene, bringing emerging and established artists to the public – in that, it still retains its original mission to fuse everyday life with an appreciation of the arts. Having featured well-known artists such as Japanese photographer Daido Moriyama, or painter Philip Akkerman who creates only self-portraits, as well as younger artists like Julia Dault, Galerie Bob Van Orsouw offers well curated insights into the dynamics of contemporary art.