Kirjahaku

Markus Raetz (1941ââ?¬â??2020) ranks among the most significant contemporary Swiss artists, whose work is highly regarded internationally. This is the first book to focus on Markus Raetzââ?¬â?¢s three-dimensional objects and mobiles, most of which have only rarely been on public display and are so far little published. Text in French and German.

Representing vision is a core theme in the art of Markus Raetz (1941–2020). The imitation of a binocular field of vision, which he chose for Zeemansblik, is as simple as it is convincing. Raetz created some 20 versions of this relief, made of painted and later of polished zinc sheet, in various dimensions. The Dutch term zeemansblik (sailor’s view) can be translated as a view of the sea, yet blik in Dutch also means sheet metal. Raetz’s wordplay refers objectively to the material and at the same time invites an interpretation of the horizontal fold in the plate as a sea horizon. Light reflections on the curved blank material change with the viewer’s moving point of view, suggesting changing weather. A simple, abstract object on the wall thus becomes a seascape without painting, with the longing motif of looking into a blue distance. In this book, art historian Franz Müller explores the complexity behind the apparent simplicity of Markus Raetz’s Zeemansblik, highlighting what makes the relief a landmark of Swiss art. Text in English and German.

Markus Raetz is one of the most renowned contemporary artists in Switzerland. Initially educated and working as a primary school teacher, he became an artist in his early twenties. Since the 1970s, his work, including solo exhibitions, has been been on the international stage. Raetz works with a variety of materials and media. The phenomenon of perception is his main focus, rather than how something is represented. Prints form a major part of his work. Markus Raetz.The Prints 1951-2013 covers his complete body of work in this genre.; the Catalogue Raisonne is complemented by a separate volume, with essays on his work and artistic development. Exhibitions: Museum of Fine Arts Bern, early 2014 (date TBC). Markus Raetz is represented with works also in the permanent collections of museums such as: Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel; Museum fur Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt (Main); San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art, La Jolla CA; Tate Gallery, London; MoMA, New York; Musee national d art moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; Schaulager, Munchenstein near Basel; Moderna Museet, Stockholm.