The free, appointment-based show will put works that span 100 years on display from leading artists including Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, Marcel Duchamp and more.
NEW YORK, NY, January, 2021 – Galerie Gmurzynska and its third-generation gallery owner, Isabelle Bscher, are pleased to present a new exhibition at its flagship NYC location. “Drawing Inspiration: A Century of Works on Paper,” will put a famed works spanning 100 years on display from such luminaries as Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, Marcel Duchamp, Zaha Hadid, Ed Ruscha, Robert Delaunay and Jean Arp.
Among the many highlights is a large drawing by Joan Miró from 1930. Executed with a single, uninterrupted line, this work highlights the artists tremendous ability as a draughtsman and his affinity for the line. This drawing is a magnificent example of the importance of drawing for Miro, who understood it as autonomous practice – not as mere preparatory work – that allowed him to experiment with technique and expression. Examples of this series of drawings from 1930 are in numerous museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York and the Art Institute of Chicago.
One of the masters of synthetic cubism, Juan Gris, is represented with a delicate landscape drawing. Paysage (Maisons àBeaulieu) 1918 explores volumetric shapes and showcases the artist’s contributions to cubism.
Renowned architect Zaha Hadid is represented with a series of drawings for a building in, what was at the time, West Berlin. Showcasing the artist’s daring and unique signature style, the drawings promise a visionary addition to Berlin’s cityscape that was regrettably never executed. Galerie Gmurzynska has had a longstanding relationship with the late architect. The gallery’s main space in Zurich features a temporary exhibition design by Hadid, which was left in place after her passing to preserve her unique vision.
The show is being presented by the gallery’s 34-year-old art dealer, Isabelle. She has become instrumental in crafting the most awe-inspiring booths at international art fairs including Art Basel, TEFAF Maastricht and NYC’s TEFAF. Her gallery has boasted the works of masters, in addition to those presented in the latest exhibition, including Donald Judd, James Turrell, Yves Klein, icons Sylvester Stallone and Karl Lagerfeld, as well as Zaha Hadid, Robert Indiana and Richard Meier.Her gallery’s VIP international opening dinners have been attended by major celebrities including Rebel Wilson, Sean Combs, Timbaland, Susan Sarandon, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Ellen Burstyn.
Galerie Gmurzynska New York is located at 43 E. 78th Street. Exhibition hours are Monday-Friday 12-5 and by appointment. If interested in checking out the exhibition, visitors are encouraged to call 212-535- 5275 to make an appointment. Visit http://www.gmurzynska.com/, for more information.
About Galerie Gmurzynska
Galerie Gmurzynska is an international art gallery with locations in Zurich and Zug, Switzerland, that specializes in modern and contemporary art as well as Russian avant-garde.
Founded in Cologne, Germany in 1965 and now housed in a landmark building at Paradeplatz in Zurich, Switzerland Galerie Gmurzynska is an internationally renowned gallery known for its museum quality and uniquely curated exhibitions.
The gallery was founded in 1965 in Cologne, Germany by Antonina Gmurzynska. From the beginning, the gallery was interested in organizing exhibitions that had a documentary character both through the choice of themes and through its publications. In its first year, an important exhibition of Japanese art from the 14th to the 19th century was held followed by an exhibition of French masterpieces from Pierre Bonnard up until the mid 20th century. The following year the gallery presented the work of David Burliuk–the first exhibition of Russian avant-garde. Up until 1971 the gallery’s program focused on Surrealism and international Constructivism in addition to Russian avant-garde. Subsequently, classic Modern art with a special focus on Picasso, Kurt Schwitters, Fernand Léger, Lyonel Feininger, and Robert and Sonia Delaunay were incorporated into the gallery’s program. From 1986 Krystyna Gmurzynska continued expanding the gallery’s classic modern program and in 1991 the gallery’s new Cologne building constructed by the Swiss architect, Roger Diener, was inaugurated. In 1993 the gallery expanded to a second location to a 14th century building in the heart of Zug, Switzerland. This building has given the gallery the opportunity to experiment with new exhibitions such as Yves Klein and Kazimir Malevichor. Aspects of Futurism in 1995, by juxtaposing modern and contemporary art with classic architectural elements of the Zug space. In 1996 Mathias Rastorfer became a partner of both extensions of the gallery, having been with it since 1991 when he left his position as Associate Director at Pace Gallery in New York. Under his influence and in addition to the gallery’s traditional repertoire, the work of contemporary artists such as Donald Judd, Louise Nevelson and Yves Klein amongst others, were incorporated. Ten years later the gallery opened its third branch in St. Moritz at Via Serlas, in 2003.
Forty years after its establishment, Krystyna Gmurzynska and Mathias Rastorfer relocated the gallery from Cologne to its new flagship location in Zurich’s Paradeplatz in 2005. The building that currently houses the gallery dates back to 1857 and it is the same block in which the Dada movement was founded in 1917, presenting its first exhibition at Galerie Dada. The first exhibition in Zurich was a solo exhibition by Alexander Calder, entitled The Modernist, that was executed in close collaboration with the Calder Foundation, who described it is as “rare to experience a presentation of this quality outside of a museum”. As with each exhibition at the gallery the show featured a fully illustrated catalogue with important essays.
Known for its museum quality and uniquely curated exhibitions, Galerie Gmurzynska has hosted over 150 shows in its various premises and published over 200 art historical catalogues and catalogue raisonné in close collaboration with experts worldwide. Moreover, the gallery has represented the estates of some of the world’s greatest artists such as Yves Klein, Louise Nevelson, Wifredo Lam and Roberto Matta, in some cases for several generations. Furthermore, the gallery represents contemporary artists Robert Indiana, Christoand Ronnie Cutrone among many others.
In 2018, the gallery opened a location in New York’s historic Upper East Side. Situated between The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Met Breuer, this location offers a fitting blend of the traditional and the modern in a historic area known for its premier and accredited cultural institutions. Galerie Gmurzynska continues to present unique exhibitions that are both historically well researched and scientifically documented. It also continues to work with leading art historians as well as collaborating with museums on exhibitions and for the enlargement of their permanent collections. Additionally, it currently participates in several art fairs such as Art Basel in Switzerland, Art Basel Miami Beach, Art BaselHong Kong, TEFAF NY Spring and EXPO Chicago. In the past it has taken part in FIAC, Frieze and PAD London and NY among other fairs.
About Isabelle Bscher of Galerie Gmurzynska
For 34-year-old art dealer Isabelle Bscher, her business runs in her blood. Isabelle is the third-generation owner of Galerie Gmurzynska – one of the best rated galleries who represent a cache of masters including Donald Judd, James Turrell, Yves Klein, icons Sylvester Stallone and Karl Lagerfeld, as well as Zaha Hadid, Robert Indiana, Richard Meier, Joan Miro, and Pablo Picasso
Isabelle grew up in the gallery, which was connected to her house, and learned to walk at the art fairs. She now splits her time between Zug in Switzerland and New York City where she has an apartment and earned her Master’s Degree in History of Contemporary Art at Sotheby’s.
Galerie Gmurzynska is regularly identified as a must-see booth at the world’s biggest art fairs including Art Basel, Frieze and TEFAF, with booth designers including Zaha Hadid, Alexandre de Betak, and Baz Luhrman. At the helm of each booth is the blonde beauty who is regularly photographed with A-List celebrities. A recent New York City TEFAF opening dinner honoring Alexandre de Betak and Christo was attended by Susan Sarandon, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Ellen Burstyn.
Isabelle was instrumental in organizing the 2014 Art Basel exhibition by Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin, in collaboration with famed music producer Nellee Hooper called, “A Kid Could Do That!” They resituated masterpieces by the likes of Pablo Picasso, Francis Bacon, Cy Twombly, Yves Klein, and Juan Miro into an old-fashioned school room, designed by a team of set painters and carpenters to challenge the idea that ‘a child could do this’ in regard to High Modernism. A dinner she organized in honor of the exhibition was attended by Sean Combs, Timbaland, Diana Picasso, and Cassie.
Ingrained in the fashion industry, Isabelle’s favorite designers include the gallery’s client, Karl Lagerfeld, as well as Hedi Slimane, Jeremy Scott, David Koma, and Maria Grazia Chiurri. Outside of the gallery, the art-world ingénue spends her time attending fashion shows, running, skiing, reading listening to music and practicing Pilates.
