The Facts
Kunsthaus Zürich announced on August 3, 2022, that it is operating with limited public access following a fire in the museum's packing room on the evening of August 2. The fire, of unknown origin, was extinguished by the Zurich professional fire brigade; no injuries occurred and no artworks were in the affected area. However, smoke damage has affected public areas, offices, and collection rooms in the original building, which houses part of the collection and the temporary exhibition "Rudolf Koller. Die Skizzenbücher." That section remains closed to the public. The Chipperfield extension is open, featuring the exhibition "Fellini. Von der Zeichnung zum Film," works of Impressionism, Dadaism, and contemporary art, as well as the Bührle, Merzbacher, and Looser private collections. Remediation work is expected to take several weeks.
The Signal
The partial closure of the Kunsthaus Zürich, one of Switzerland's leading art museums, disrupts access to its historic building and the Koller exhibition, a focused show on the 19th-century Swiss painter. For collectors and curators, the incident underscores the vulnerability of institutional infrastructure and the importance of contingency planning for exhibition schedules. The continued operation of the Chipperfield wing, which houses the museum's modern and contemporary holdings, ensures that major loans and permanent collection highlights remain on view, mitigating the impact on visitor experience and the museum's programming during the cleanup period.
- Artists: Rudolf Koller
- People: Björn Quellenberg, Urs Eberle
- Museums: Kunsthaus Zürich
- Locations: Zürich
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