Rémy Zaugg: Der besondere Ort

Rémy Zaugg (1943–2005) was an inter­nation­ally renowned artist who lived and worked in Basel and Mulhouse. He saw himself as a painter, yet he would not limit himself solely to the production of images. Rather, from his painterly practice he generated general assump­tions for a processual conception of the work that enabled him to view spatial, architectural, and urban contexts in new, unfamiliar ways. Accordingly, the perceiving human being as a member of society was always at the center of his considerations – all his aesthetic assump­tions led to the emancipatory idea of the »becoming« subject. In addition to his extensive painterly and written oeuvre, it is therefore his activities and projects for and in public space that are essential for understanding Zaugg’s particular artistic position. The book is dedicated to this socially relevant complex of topics, documenting all of the artist’s respective realized and unrealized projects, with a particular focus on the following key aspects of his work: museum architecture (here in particular his collaboration with Herzog & de Meuron), exhibitions with works by other artists, art in public spaces as well as his preoccupation, in both theoretical and practical terms, with artistic methodology, cooperation and the work concept. The artist was friends with Herzog & de Meuron and also collaborated with them on urban design issues. In Gerhard Mack's informative interview with the two architects, Jacques Herzog concludes, on the space the two acquired from Rémy Zaugg: »I simply like knowing that he is near us and will continue to be an influence when we are no longer around. So in that respect, it’s a tribute, a place where Rémy is present. But at the same time, the room with all its complex history is also a refernce to us, a kind of key to our own work.«