When Swiss entrepreneur Hubert Looser (79) got tired of business, banks and expectations he became an avid art collector. Now he lends a large part of his collection to the National Gallery in Oslo. The exhibition “Restless Gestures” is on display until 7 January 2018.
American art is the main attraction in the National Gallery in Oslo this year. is showcasing. Earlier the graphic exhibition “The Great Graphic Boom” was on display, and the exhibition, “Restless Gestures – Works from Hubert Looser’s Collection” was officially opened this week, consisting of paintings, sculptures and graphics.
«I sold the shares in my company and began collecting art to learn» he tells Daily Scandinavian. “I prefer quality to quantity, and I decided to collect backwards in time, from present time and back to the 1930s. I concentrated on three movements; Surrealism, Impressionism and Minimalism.”
The exhibition is organized in four chapters and demonstrates how different attitudes towards artistic gesture has contributed to forming Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism, Minimalism, and more recent abstract art.
Herbert Looser was a businessman from 1964 to 1992, as shareholder and CEO of ELCO
Looser Holding and Walter Rentsch Holding. His art collection is considered one of the most important private modern art collections in Europe.
The exhibition in Oslo displays works of among others, David Smith, Willem de Koonig, Cy Twombly, Al Taylor and Fabienne Verdier.
“It is an immense pleasure and a unique opportunity to host this exhibition, not least since the art collection of the Swiss entrepreneur and philanthropist Hubert Looser is considered one of the finest private collections of its kind in Central Europe. It tells the story of some of the most important movements in 20th century art in the United States and Europe, with works by some of the best known artists of the time,” writes Sabrina van der Ley, Director of Contemporary Art at the National Museum, Oslo, in her introduction to the catalogue.
After the exhibition in Oslo, his art collection will be donated to Kunsthaus Zürich.
The exhibition is curated by Ingvild Krogvig.
Restless Gestures in Oslo, written by Tor Kjolberg
Feature image (on top):Hubert Looser in front of Tempête de flux (2007) by Fabienne Verdier
All photographs by Tor Kjolberg, except the selected photographs below, taken by Mr. Hubert Looser during the opening in Oslo.
