There are many ways for tourism offices across the globe to brand and promote their countries. But by initiating cultural dialogue and highlighting architecture experience, Switzerland Tourism has devised a unique way to present the country. In this new campaign, award-winning architecture photographer and curator Paul Clemence was commissioned to present the architectural excellence of Swiss museums in a series of art photography, adding an artistic allure to the Swiss brand.
Now that these photographs are presented in the solo exhibition Paul Clemence: Shapes, Rhythm, Abstraction / Swiss Museums at the Paul Rudolph Institute for Modern Architecture (an organization dedicated to educating the public about modern architecture and the need to preserve it) located in the Modulightor Building, it is an opportunity to see this unique presentation of Switzerland.
Clemence, who made his name through poetic photography in which he expresses architecture through abstract filters, is taking us on a fascinating journey through Switzerland’s regions and cities (e.g. Geneva, Basel, Zurich, Bern), illuminating the Swiss museums and demonstrating the power of their architecture to evoke the country’s unique landscape as expressed in its art institutions. We learn that Switzerland’s museums were designed by some of the world’s best architects, such as Herzog & de Meuron, Mario Botta, Christ & Gantenbein, Barozzi Veiga, Buchner Bründler, and Renzo Piano, thus presenting a variety of architecture approaches and concepts.
“This exhibit,” Clemence told me, “has a full circle feeling for me, since I have been photographing Swiss museums for the last 10 years, crisscrossing the country capturing these amazing structures! A very inspiring journey, and I want this essay to show the variety of architectural approaches and concepts I found.” Curated by Eshaan Mehta, he seeks to highlight a fresh perspective on museums, presenting them as vibrant, evolving works of art.
