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The Eye That Listens

Hammershoi_Interieur-mit-Frau-am-Klavier

Silent rooms, muted light and minimal shifts within the familiar: Kunsthaus Zürich presents the first comprehensive museum exhibition in Switzerland dedicated to Vilhelm Hammershøi. His paintings focus on perception, atmosphere and the subtle tensions between space and objects.

Vilhelm Hammershøi Open Doors, 1905, The David Collection, B 309 Photo: Pernille Klemp

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Empty rooms, closed doors, figures seen from behind: Hammershøi’s paintings withdraw from narrative. Instead, they create concentration. Spaces appear both familiar and distant, light moves across walls, and objects assert a quiet presence.
His works are defined by subtle gradations of muted colours. Minimal variations in recurring motifs sharpen the viewer’s gaze and place perception at the centre.

In dialogue with international movements of his time, Hammershøi developed a distinctive visual language. His affinity with James McNeill Whistler is evident in his reduced compositions and focus on formal aspects. At the same time, his work appears strikingly modern and invites comparisons with artists such as Giorgio Morandi. Another dimension emerges through his relationship to music: instruments such as the cello or piano appear in his paintings, which convey a tense calm – like the moment just before a concert begins. Alongside the iconic interiors, the exhibition also presents portraits, cityscapes and landscapes, placing his work within a broader art-historical context.

An exhibition in collaboration with the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid. Supported by Albers & Co.

“I do not paint what I see, but what I perceive.”

– Vilhelm Hammershøi

Gallery

Hammershoi_Interieur-mit-lesender-Frau
Hammershoi_Wohnzimmer
Hammershoi_Interieur-mit-der-Frau-des-Kuenstlers
Hammershoi_Selbstportraet
Hammershoi_Landschaft-Blick-von-Leire
Hammershoi_Die-hohen-Fenster

Programme

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Eröffnung «Vilhelm Hammershøi. Maler des stillen Klangs»

Exklusive Vorbesichtigung der Ausstellung für Mitglieder
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Vilhelm Hammershøi. Maler des stillen Klangs

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Free Places: 30
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Supported by:

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Ill.: VVilhelm Hammershøi, Interior with Woman at Piano, Strandgade 30, 1901, Private collection, Photo: Bruno Lopes