RAIR | 2001

Magdalena Z’Graggen

Maria Magdalena Z’Graggen is a painter who focuses on color, space and the installation context. Her binational background and upbringing made travel in foreign countries formative influences. Her work has been exhibited widely in Europe, North and South America, and South Korea. Magdalena has received awards for Visual Arts from UBS Culture Foundation, among others, and has participated in residencies in the American Southwest, Cuba and Argentina. From 2009 to 2015 she was a lecturer at the Institute of Art of FHNW Academy of Art and Design in Basel. Recent shows include ‘¿Quién está dónde?’ at Villa Renata; Kunstkredit at Kunsthalle Basel which included Lichtblicke, a screening of selected films and videos at Stadtkino Basel; and ‘Wet Paint’! at SKLAD in Sukhum/i, Abkhazia. Her works are in various public collections including Bank Julius Bär, F. Hoffmann-La Roche, UBS Art Collection and the Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art. Magdalena is represented by Anne Mosseri-Marlio Galerie in Basel. (From RAiR 50th Anniversary Exhibition Catalog, 2017)

“Color. That shows me. And captures me. That gives me knowledge. Of what I see. Of where I am. That leads me to painting. That leads me through painting. Enhances my perception. Color. That talks on states. Shows me the state. Of the day. Gives me the view. Of the landscape. The reddish earth. The sky. Is blue and blue, another blue, then gray or white or brown. It changes all the time. The color of the sky. The trees and fields. Are yellow, brown and green. And beige or sand-colored. So many browns and grays. the fences dark. washed out. By the sun. The bushes olive-green and other greens to be seen, the flowers, they carry all colors, the insects light blue or screaming green then pink and orange, purple, black. And then sometimes so gray and pale and hidden. The butterflies are colorful. All colors there. And more. Appears in front of my eyes. The hours spend outside. In nature. Among the birds and the wind. A lot of space. That space outside. Those vast plains. The wide, wide sky. The thunderstorms or other storms. Which carry dust and dirt. Those are the colors. Which come with me. I bring them back. And let them grow and change. Appear and disappear. They show themselves. And find their place.

In painting.”

Roswell Museum

Rair exhibition •  Maria Magdalena Z’Graggen• October 5 - NOvember 11, 2001