Art/Printing. Current trends

Christiane Baumgartner and Shirana Shahbazi in conversation with Linda Schädler

Historical printing techniques are not just a thing of the past: many contemporary artists are inspired by them. This gives rise to some unexpected, surprising connections, as can be seen in the works of Christiane Baumgartner and Shirana Shahbazi.

Together with Linda Schädler, Director of the Graphische Sammlung ETH Zürich, the two artists will talk about how themes and techniques of old meld with processes of contemporary creation in their works.

On the occasion of the event, the exhibition From Albrecht Dürer to Andy Warhol. Masterpieces from the Graphische Sammlung ETH Zürich will be visitable free of charge.

Christiane Baumgartner was born in 1967 in Leipzig, Germany, and studied there at the Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst before completing her Masters in Printmaking at the Royal College of Art in London in 1999.

Baumgartner is best known for monumental woodcuts based on her own films and video stills. In 2005 the Ikon Gallery in Birmingham presented a major solo exhibition of Baumgartner’s work and in 2006, the artist was included in the groundbreaking exhibition, Eye on Europe, at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Baumgartner has had further presentations at Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Boston (2023); The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (2021); Manif d’Art, The Quebec City Biennial, Canada (2019); Goethe Institute, Hanoi (2012); Museum Franz Gertsch, Burgdorf (2011).
Baumgartner’s work is held in over fifty public collections around the world including the Albertina, Vienna; Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris; Staatliche Museen zu Berlin; British Museum, London; Victoria and Albert Museum, London; Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester; Museum of Modern Art, New York; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles and National Gallery Victoria, Australia.

Shirana Shahbazi (*1974 in Tehran; lives and works in Zurich since 1997) is an internationally recognized artist. Her work is represented in public collections worldwide, such as Aargauer Kunsthaus, Aarau; Guggenheim Museum, New York; Kunstmuseum Zürich; MoMA, New York; Tate Modern, London; Sprengel Museum, Hannover. Exhibitions have been presented at international institutions, including the MoMA, New York; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Barbican Art Gallery, London and the Venice Biennale. Together with Manuel Krebs, she has published various artist books and monographs. In 2019 she was awarded the Prix Meret Oppenheim. 

Dr Linda Schädler has been director of the Graphische Sammlung ETH Zürich since 2016, where she has curated several exhibitions interfacing with other disciplines, including Die unterschätzte Horizontale. Das Gesims in Kunst und Architektur (2021). Previously, she was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Zurich and the ETH. Before publishing her dissertation, James Coleman und die Anamorphose. Der Blick von der Seite (2013), she worked on the collection of the Kunstmuseum Basel as an academic associate, and at the Kunsthaus Zürich as curator and assistant curator.