Featured Events in Zurich in April, 2025 (May Updated)

The exhibition at the National Museum Zurich shines a spotlight on a culture still embraced enthusiastically by millions of people around the world today. Video and audio installations in a setting designed to look like a record shop take visitors on a journey through the evolution of electronic sound and let them explore the social, political, economic and aesthetic dimensions of techno culture in Switzerland.

The Kunsthaus Zürich presents a diverse exhibition programme that unites opposites and opens up innovative ways of viewing art. The focus is on surprising moments that invite visitors to rethink boundaries and open up new worlds of perception. This year's outstanding artists include Roman Signer, known for his spectacular installations, Monster Chetwynd, whose provocative works challenge traditional art forms, and Refik Anadol, a pioneer of AI-supported art. These and other globally unique projects offer fresh perspectives and unforgettable experiences that go beyond traditional exhibition formats. From the iconic Dada movement to cutting-edge digital art, from intimate to large-scale works, the coming year promises an inspiring journey through time, space and media at Kunsthaus Zürich.

This exhibition will focus on the textile works of American artist Sheila Hicks, Swiss artist Elsi Giauque and others, ranging from plain and simple fabrics to fancy and colorful tassels, from two-dimensional geometric pattern weaving to free-form products in three-dimensional space, striving to present the creativity of the artists and the unique appeal they give to their works.

The Kunsthaus Zürich shows the fascinating world of Roman Signer. The large exhibition gallery will be transformed into an open artistic landscape where playful energy and a deep sense of wonder about nature come together.

James Franco is certainly the only Hollywood star to read Marcel Proust on Spiderman films sets. Twice Golden Globe-awarded (2002 for James Dean role; 2018 for The Disaster Artist), Oscar-nominated, the 46 year old actor played in some hundred films and series since he was 16. Actor-director-producer, James Franco has been parallelly acting in life as an academic with a PhD from Yale, a writer publishing poetry, a model for Gucci, and mostly as a visual artist since his teenage years developing a considerable visual work mixing painting, video art and performance. After shows with MOCA Los Angeles (Rebel, 2012, along with artists friends Paul McCarthy, Douglas Gordon, Ed Ruscha…) and in galleries including Pace and Gagosian, Franco presents his new exhibition at Galerie Gmurzynska, Zurich, titled Hollywood is Hell. A powerful series of rough and complex collages composed of various layers of images and signs, symbols and text. 28 shocking canvases and objets d’art appearing as destroyed posters on the street walls of some dirty district will be on display: those collages represent for James Franco “a portrait of Los Angeles during Covid, the artist explains. The streets were empty, the posters damaged on the walls… It was a sort of almost post-apocalyptic atmosphere. I lived at that time near the Hollywood cemetery, where so many stars are buried, and I was walking there. Dreamland had became for me a waste land. And this shit is actually how the dream factory looks like”. One of those collages on canvas is purposely titled: “Hollywood is Hell”. The whole series of works, exhibited for the first time, constitutes a kind of deconstruction of a certain glamorous mythology of Hollywood. Masculinity is devastated – from Bruce Willis’ figure to Batman icon, through Jordan and Travolta – as one of the pillars of a decadent mass entertainment culture. It may come as no surprise that James Franco loves William Burroughs’ literature and his deconstructed writing. Those collages are true deconstructed works. James Franco likes more than everything to walk on the opposite side of the shinning Dream City fantasy. In the highly-standardized Hollywood system, art eventually became a kind of refuge for the actor, the last place of freedom.

Galerie Peter Kilchmann presents “Red Romance”, the first solo exhibition of South Korean artist Sea Hyun Lee. Known for his spectacular “Red Sansu” landscapes, Lee’s work employs vibrant red tones to evoke emotions such as grief, pain, fear, and beauty, while simultaneously challenging the viewer to look beyond the surface of idyllic landscapes and explore the complexities beneath.

Mai 36 Galerie presents its first solo exhibition of the work of London-based, Dutch artist Magali Reus. In “Full House” three recent bodies of sculptural and photographic work – What Grows (2022), Landings (2022) and Clementine (2022–3) – explore ecology and systems of production, teasing out the tensions between constructed nature, high technology and the impact of post-industrial human activity. These works are presented at Mai 36 Galerie alongside an intervention in the gallery space of wall paintings derived from vernacular Swiss Appenzell illustrations.

This exhibition is held in memory of Rémy Zaugg (1943–2005), one of the most radical Swiss artists, making 20 years since his passing. It offers a chance to revisit his work and reflect on the lasting impact of his artistic vision. Rémy Zaugg’s work and writings consistently engaged with the interplay between the role of the painter and painting, perception, and space. His conceptual practice sought to redefine the viewer’s role in experiencing art, emphasizing the significance of language in shaping visual reality.

With "Toward Architecture," Le Corbusier created a manifesto and laid the foundation for modernism. To mark the 100th anniversary of this work, the exhibition of the same name examines the collected texts and examines current architectural discourses and future perspectives.

Sechseläuten (Sechseläuten) is an annual traditional spring celebration in Zurich, Switzerland, usually held on the third Monday of April. This festival marks the end of winter and the arrival of spring, and its history can be traced back to the 16th century. The core activity of the Sechseläuten is the burning of a snowman figure called "Böögg", which symbolizes winter. Böögg is placed on a pile of firewood and, after being lit, the time it takes for the snowman's head to explode is considered a traditional way of predicting the upcoming summer weather: the faster it burns, the better the summer will be. On the day of the festival, members of various guilds in Zurich dress in traditional costumes and participate in a grand parade that starts from the city center and eventually reaches the site of the burning of Böögg. In addition, the festival is accompanied by music, dance and rich food, and is an excellent opportunity to experience Zurich's culture and history.

Atelier Bossard in Lucerne was one of Switzerland’s most renowned goldsmith’s workshops in the 19th century. Splendid trophies, silverware and jewellery were produced under the leadership of company founder Johann Karl Bossard (1846-1914). The staff not only created their own designs but also crafted exact copies of historical objects from the Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque periods. Craftsmanship had recovered its appeal as people pushed back against industrial mass production. A visit to Bossard’s and the purchase of a prestige item were de rigueur for wealthy noble families and rich industrialists in the booming tourist city of Lucerne. In 2013, the contents of the goldsmith’s workshop were added to the collection at the Swiss National Museum. The exhibition in the National Museum Zurich’s Hall of Fame displays designs, models and historical photos in addition to the workshop’s most beautiful pieces, reviving Bossard’s former brilliance.

From markets to department stores to online: where and how we shop has changed drastically over the past 170 years. And consumption itself is constantly evolving, too. More money and more free time are shaping what we can do, what we need and what we want, both individually and collectively. This is evidenced by a wide range of photos, as well as graphic works from posters to shopping bags. The exhibition draws on pieces from the Swiss National Museum collection to present eclectic imagery from everyday life. It ranges from the colourful kiosk to the department store that has everything, and from a cheerful get-together at the local pub to a photo slideshow at home reminiscing about past summer holidays.

Bernheim Gallery is pleased to present Mortal Thoughts, a group show that brings together the practices of four artists: Nutsa Gogaladze, Ant Łakomsk, Travis MacDonald, and Rico Weber. The exhibition explores the lingering traces of absence and presence that remain as echoes of past experiences or as conjured fragments from the unknown. Working at the intersection of abstraction and figuration, the exhibition continuously hints at a fragment of memory that remains hidden, never fully unveiled. Through abstraction, obscured figures, and the interplay of light and shadow, this theme unfolds literally in the paintings of Łakomsk and MacDonald, where hazy figures emerge through painterly brushstrokes, as well as more conceptually through the works of Gogaladze and Weber, which explore how memory materialises within spatial constructs.

Lullin + Ferrari present new works by Franziska Furter (*1972 in Zurich, lives and works in Basel) in her seventh solo exhibition at the gallery.

FINANZ will be something quite special in its anniversary year. It will focus exclusively on professional investors, thereby acquiring a very clear profile. From now on, the event programme will accordingly be targeted consistently at professionals. From now on, both days of the fair will be reserved for this target audience, which includes asset managers, private bankers, family offices, pension funds, etc. Fonds will welcome more than 100 exhibitors this time. The exhibitor profile for this event will include banks, money lending organizations, fund service agencies, asset management companies, investment companies, private capital management organizations, regulatory bodies and lots more. Information Source: DeltaBlue AG | expotobi

Expovina Primavera event showcases products like a variety of wines from renowned wine producers coming from various countries including Australia, Germany, and France apart from a series of others and Modern design, Arrive comfortably Expovina Primavera event showcases products like a variety of wines from renowned wine producers coming from various countries including Australia, Germany, and France apart from a series of others and Modern design, Arrive comfortably. There will be myriad collection of wines in various categories which will leave the visitors spoilt for choice etc. in the Wine & Spirits industry. The specialized trade on board the Weinschiffe was able to benefit from the growing demand for competent advice and high-quality wines. Information Source: Expovina | expotobi

Natural disasters, water shortages, toxic wastewater discharges... The world is facing increasingly severe water resource challenges. How humans deal with precious water resources will determine the future development of humanity and the earth. This exhibition will collect design works from various fields such as architecture, art, and science, and introduce design concepts born around "water" from all over the world and their potential to reshape the future. Each designer tries to open up a way out of the water crisis for mankind by providing innovative solutions.

This January, the artist Rachel Khedoori presents an installation of new work in the second-floor gallery of Hauser & Wirth Zurich, Limmatstrasse. Over the course of a career spanning 30 years, Khedoori has worked in various mediums—film, sculpture and installation to reinterpret space and challenge perception through the discrete displacement of her mediums, materials and forms.

For her second exhibition with Hauser & Wirth and her first solo show in Switzerland, Uman presents all new paintings and works on paper at the gallery’s Zurich location on Limmatstrasse in partnership with Nicola Vassell Gallery, New York NY. Working in Upstate New York, Uman’s new paintings reflect her reverence for the natural world. Fluidly navigating in-between realms to explore both the physical and spiritual, the artist intertwines abstraction, figuration and meditative patterning. Expanding on this unique visual language, Uman’s new body of work also explores ideas of color field painting. With some works suspended from the ceiling and a site-specific wall mural that transforms part of the gallery space, Uman invites the viewer to be immersed in her lavishly detailed and opulently colored worlds, replete with gesture, geometry and evocations of the sublime.

Christophe Guye Galerie presents the third solo exhibition “The Tapestry” by Erik Madigan Heck (*1983, United States) at the gallery. On display is a selection of works, most of them from his latest monograph “The Tapestry”, published by Thames & Hudson in late 2024.

Christophe Guye Galerie presents an exhibition of works by Swiss photographer Balthasar Burkhard (1944-2010, Switzerland) in Kabinet II of the gallery.Burkhard was an outstanding photographer who worked as both a documentary and artistic photographer from the 1960s onwards. After his training with Kurt Blum and his first commissions - for example as a documentary photographer for the Kunsthalle Bern under Harald Szeemann - he developed pioneering works such as the ‘Photocanvases’, in which photographs were exposed directly onto canvases. His work, which moves between photography, sculpture, object and painting, is characterised by clear, reduced black and white pictures.

Galerie Fabian Lang and the estate of Werner Frei - his three daughters - celebrate the life and works of this exceptional artist.

Expovina Primavera event showcases products like a variety of wines from renowned wine producers coming from various countries including Australia, Germany, and France apart from a series of others and Modern design, Arrive comfortably. There will be myriad collection of wines in various categories which will leave the visitors spoilt for choice etc. in the Wine & Spirits industry. The specialized trade on board the Weinschiffe was able to benefit from the growing demand for competent advice and high-quality wines. Expovina Primavera is a premium wine show for Swiss and foreign wines which will be participated by numerous exhibitors from various countries. Producers, tasters, suppliers, manufacturers of bar furniture, owners of wine companies and other wine experts will be coming with exhibits like champagne, desert wine, red wine, sparkling wine, spirits, grape juice and white wine. In 2011, the event was a huge success roping in around 90 participants by the names of Canta Vino SA, Gil Vins and Divino, showcasing more than 2000 varieties of wines, grape juices and spirits. In the upcoming event, these exhibitors will again get to interact with the buyers in person and renew existing business contracts part from signing new ones. Information Source: Expovina | expotobi

The photographs in this exhibition were sourced from the artist’s extensive collection of found online images depicting individuals asleep. These photographs date back to the early days of the internet when platforms like Picasa, Blogger, and Photobucket played a key role in the hosting and sharing of images. None of these photographs can be found online today, nor can they be reverse image searched. While they may still exist on personal servers or digital cameras, their public-facing presence has, in most cases, vanished from the world.

Galerie Eva Presenhuber presents the group show Wall Works & Sculptures, showcasing works by Walead Beshty, Angela Bulloch, Sylvie Fleury, Liam Gillick, Douglas Gordon, John Giorno, Adam Pendleton, Gerwald Rockenschaub, Ugo Rondinone, and Steven Shearer.

"When I paint I do not think of structure or theme; what I seek is a certain 'flavour' – a rhythm of spirit and energy, so that the soul drifts in the painting, like a shadow of the mind. Everything is flat and calm. 'Form' is unimportant."— Qiu Shihua