06.03.2022 – 23.10.2022

Picture books: illustrated & staged

Logo Picture books: illustrated & staged
Logo Picture books: illustrated & staged
Photos: Michael Lio; Exhibition poster Illustration: It's Raining Elephants, Graphicdesign: Stillhart Konzept
Simple tales full of wit and poetry are brought to life as we eagerly turn the pages of picture books, whose illustrations transport us to other worlds. As vehicles for meaning, picture books speak to the reader (or storyteller) in a very direct way. Their illustrations allow us to enjoy the delight of discovery as well as the comfort of familiarity. At the same time, there is always something new to be found in picture books. The longer we look at them, the more multilayered and complex their content becomes – yet they still form a coherent whole. How do picture books achieve this?

Isabel Minhós Martins (text) and Bernardo P. Carvalho (illustration): «Hier kommt keiner durch!», Klett Kinderbuch, 2017; Marta & ich, It’s Raining Elephants, Atlantis Verlag, 2017; Les Robes, G. Zullo, Albertine, Editions La Joie de lire, Genève, 2014

The exhibition explores the types of visual narrative found in contemporary picture books, with particular attention to their singular immediacy. It brings stories vividly to life for children and adults alike, and investigates the creative process of picture book production. From jaunty colours to minimalist grey tones, from polished digital images to rough sketches, and from unusual pop-up formats to pages featuring cut-outs, the design possibilities seem endless. The show also visits the studios of Swiss illustrators and takes a look over their shoulders at live events.

Guest curator: Hans ten Doornkaat

With great and small insights into numerous picture books from:

Jürg Amann and Käthi Bhend / Anita Bättig and Samuel Schuhmacher / Sara Ball / Istvan Banyai / Agnese Baruzzi / Adrienne Barman / Marion Bataille / Jutta Bauer / Aaron Becker / Rotraut Susanne Berner / Maike Biederstaedt / Koen van Biesen / Blexbolex / Dieter Böge and Bernd Mölck-Tassel / Anouck Boisrobert and Louis Rigaud / Daniel Bosshart / Vincent Bourgeau and Cédric Ramadier / Hannah Brückner / Eric Carle / Bernardo P. Carvalho and Isabel Minhós Martins / Katy Couprie and Antonin Louchard / Reza Dalvand / Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler / Judith Drews / Vera Eggermann and Ueli Kleeb / Peter van den Ende / Heike Faller / Daniel Fehr and Luigi Olivadoti resp. Maurizio A.C. Quarello / Jean-Marc Fiess / Hans Fischer / Diane and Christyan Fox / Annegert Fuchshuber / Sarah Gasser / Doro Göbel and Peter Knorr / Emily Gravett / Armin Greder / Françoise de Guibert / Peter Gut / John Hare / Nikolaus Heidelbach / Kristina Heldmann / Robert Henderson / Isol / It`s Raining Elephants / Heinz Janisch and Gerhard Haderer / Tove Jansson / Oliver Jeffers and Sam Winston / Jean Jullien / Matto Kämpf and Yves Noyau / Samira Kentrić / Raphaël Kolly / Edward Lear and Klaus Ensikat / Barbara Lehmann / Suzy Lee / Leo Lionni / David McKee / Anete Melece / Elsa Mroziewicz / Jörg Mühle / Thomas Müller / Bruno Munari / Chris Naylor-Ballesteros / Cee Neudert and Lena Winkel / B. J. Novak / Květa Pacovská / Lorenz Pauli and Miriam Zedelius / Clotilde Perrin / Andrea Peter / Celestino Piatti / Miro Poferl / Nicolai Popov / Petra Postert and Jens Rassmus / Tom Reed / Béatrice Rodriguez / Markus Roost / Maeva Rubli and Anisa Alrefaei Roomieh / Claudia Rueda / Sabine Rufener / Rainer Sacher / Zéa Schaad / Kathrin Schärer / Johanna Schaible / Peter Schössow / Binette Schroeder / Jordan Scott / Walid Serageldine / Sydney Smith / Grégoire Solotareff and Alain Le Saux / Anna Sommer / Julia Spiers / Anton Stankowski / Gideon Sterer and Mariachiara Dí Giorgio / Shaun Tan / Christian Tielmann and Daniel Napp / Thé Tjong-Khing / Olga Tokarczuk and Joanna Concejo / Øyvind Torseter / Tomi Ungerer / Frank Viva / Johannes Vogt and Felicitas Horstschäfer / Daan Remmerts de Vries and Ingrid Schubert and Dieter Schubert / Friedrich Karl Waechter / David Wiesner / Mo Willems / Claudia Wirth / Giovanna Zoboli / Yusuke Yonezu / ZO-O / Germano Zullo and Albertine / and many others.

Information for media professionals


Media information files and high-resolution media images are available for download. Impressions of each exhibition are released after the official opening.

We are happy to send you a specimen copy or a link to coverage of our exhibitions on request.

If you have any particular questions about the exhibition, require additional material or are looking for the right people to interview, please contact Media Relations for more information.

Media information is available in German only.

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