Concrete Art is a significant artistic movement that emerged in Europe in the early 1930s, representing a departure from both figurative and abstract art. With the rise of the National Socialists in Germany, Expressionism as an art movement was effectively declared over, leading to the development of a new avant-garde art form in Switzerland around the Zurich Concrete group.

The experimentation and desire of the Expressionists to explore new paths in art also paved the way for Concrete Art, allowing artists to explore new forms of artistic expression. The essence of Concrete Art lies in its focus on pure forms, geometric structures, and clear lines. Artists of this movement aimed for absolute objectivity and a visual language free from any subjective interpretation or symbols. The works of Concrete Art emphasize the aesthetic quality of materials, the relationship between shapes and colours, and the precise arrangement of elements in space.

The exhibition pays tribute to the artistic legacy of four visionary Swiss artists: Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Max Bill, Gottfried Honegger, and Verena Loewensberg, inviting the audience to explore the connections between art, architecture, and nature. The sculptures in Kirchner Park are complemented by a selection of paintings and sculptures in the museum corridor and exhibition space. This allows visitors to experience an immersive journey blurring the boundaries between the park and the museum interior. At the same time, the presentation serves as a preview of the parallel exhibition "Zum Schein Architektur" (“I pretended to study architecture") focusing on Kirchner's study of architecture and its influence on his painting.

The starting point of this retrospective lies in the temporal overlap of the artistic activities of Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Sophie Taeuber-Arp. The constructive visual language of the artist, often featuring stylized motifs, spans from the pioneering era of abstract-geometric art around 1918, through the concrete painting of Verena Loewensberg, to the sculptures and paintings of Max Bill, and the colourful sculptures and paintings of Gottfried Honegger. Both painting and sculpture are at the centre of the presentation. Starting from geometric studies that Ernst Ludwig Kirchner created during his studies and supplemented by selected paintings from his oeuvre - such as the stylized abstract painting "Junkerboden" from 1938 - a fascinating dialogue unfolds with the constructivist and concrete works of the Swiss artists. Kirchner's compositions appear in a new light, as flat arrangements, strong geometrization, and a use of primary colors come to the fore.

In the park next to the museum, Gottfried Honegger's sculptures "Pliage C21" and "Pliage C20" serve as vertical color formations, turning away from a representative representation to focus on themselves. Max Bill's "Strebende Kräfte einer Kugel" (Striving Forces of a Sphere), on the other hand, deals with the relationship between two related but mathematically deconstructed forms. Additionally, a spatial and aesthetic relationship is created with the surrounding artworks, buildings, and the public space of Kirchner Park. Honegger's "Pliage C25" and Bill's "Unendliche Fläche in Form einer Säule" (Infinite Surface in the Shape of a Column) create a completely different tension between sculpture and space inside the museum, alongside other works. The pared down museum architecture by Gigon/Guyer creates a dialogue with the restrained yet well-composed color schemes of these works, revealing itself as a process of constant renegotiation through different viewing angles and changing light and weather conditions.

With the presentation of various loans from Swiss museums and private collections, this year's exhibition of the series "Art in Kirchner Park" sheds light on the different tendencies of constructivist and concrete art by Swiss artists in the 20th century.

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The artist Sophie Taeuber-Arp (1889–1943), born in Davos, belongs to the first generation of Concrete Art. Like the Expressionists of the Brücke artist group, she dissolved the traditional boundaries between art and life with her work. The avant-garde circles in Zurich and Paris, to which she belonged, along with her training in crafts and teaching, merged into a practiced, applied abstraction that permeated almost all aspects of life. Until her death in 1943, her oeuvre extended across textiles, furniture, architecture, graphic design, painting, drawing, sculpture, and relief.

Max Bill (1908–1994) was a Swiss artist, architect, painter, sculptor, and graphic designer. After training as a silversmith, he studied at the Bauhaus School in Dessau under renowned artists such as Wassily Kandinsky, Oskar Schlemmer, and Paul Klee. In 1929, he moved to Zurich and embarked on a versatile career as an artist and publicist. Alongside Otl Aicher and Inge Scholl, he founded the influential Ulm School of Design. Max Bill is considered a key figure in modern art and design.

Verena Loewensberg (1912–1986) was a Swiss artist from Zurich. After training in weaving, embroidery, and colour theory, she turned to geometry and abstract art from 1936 onwards. Her work evolved without a fixed program or theoretical basis: "I have no theory, I rely on something coming to me," she said in 1977. With simple basic forms such as triangles, circles, and rectangles, she created an independent oeuvre that combined emotion with geometric symmetry. Colour played a central role, with her masterful use of black and white, primary colors, and subtle shades. As the only woman in the group of Zurich Concretes, she held a special position. It was not until the 1970s that she gained broad recognition and was honored with a solo exhibition at the Kunsthaus Zurich in 1981.

Gottfried Honegger (1917–2016) spent parts of his childhood in Sent, Graubünden. In 1938, together with his future wife Warja Lavater, he founded a studio for graphics, illustration, and photography in Zurich. Here, he quickly established himself as one of the leading representatives of modern Swiss graphic design. In his free artistic work, after initial organic abstractions around 1957, he developed a consistently constructive visual language. During his stay in New York from 1958 to 1960, he joined the avant-garde circles around Al Held, Sam Francis, and Mark Rothko. Together with his partner Sybil Albers, Honegger assembled an extensive collection of constructive art, which has also been housed in a building by Gigon/Guyer in Mouans-Sartoux, France, for some time.