Kunsthaus Zürich to Present First Joint Exhibition of Maria Lassnig and Edvard Munch
The Facts
The Kunsthaus Zürich will open 'Maria Lassnig and Edvard Munch. Flow of Paint = Flow of Life' on October 2, 2026, running through February 21, 2027. The exhibition brings together approximately 150 works to explore affinities between the Austrian painter (1919–2014) and the Norwegian artist (1863–1944), focusing on themes of the body, perception, and the cycle of life. It is the first direct dialogue between the two artists and was developed in collaboration with the Hamburger Kunsthalle, initiated by directors Ann Demeester and Alexander Klar. The Kunsthaus holds the largest collection of Munch paintings outside Norway, with acquisitions dating to 1922, and previously hosted a solo Lassnig exhibition in 2003 after she received the Roswitha Haftmann Prize.
The Signal
The exhibition marks a significant institutional pairing, highlighting how Lassnig consciously positioned herself within a painterly lineage that included Munch, as seen in her 1983 work 'Chain of Tradition,' which will be shown publicly for the first time after a long absence. By juxtaposing Munch's existential explorations of life and death with Lassnig's introspective 'body awareness pictures,' the show offers a fresh art-historical perspective that may influence how collectors and curators view both artists' contributions to modern and contemporary painting. The collaboration between the Kunsthaus and the Hamburger Kunsthalle also signals a growing trend of cross-institutional curatorial projects that reframe canonical figures through unexpected dialogues.
- Artists: Maria Lassnig, Edvard Munch
- People: Ann Demeester, Alexander Klar, Hans Dieter Huber, Sandra Gianfreda, Brigitte Kölle, Peter Pakesch, Wilhelm Wartmann
- Museums: Kunsthaus Zürich, Hamburger Kunsthalle
- Locations: Zurich, Hamburg
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