Swiss Poster Art 100 years of creation

Finished

Poster art is one of Switzerland's major contributions to decorative arts. For more than a century, Swiss graphic designers gave a strong personality to their art by synthesizing very different influences and cultures. The modern history of posters started in Geneva in 1895 and was strongly influenced by the Art Nouveau. In the German-speaking part of Switzerland graphic designers created pictorial posters of very high quality, which were essentially made for tourism. After 1918, the graphic art evolved into g design based on simple and realistic forms with a swift and direct message. Constructivist posters and Bauhaus had a strong influence on graphic Swiss art. As soon as 1945 "Neue Grafik" with its modernity and its clearness became a world success, Parallel to this movement some graphic artists developed a decorative style that was to be found in commercial advertising. These two tendencies dominated the Swiss posters production for a long time. In the seventies, graphic designers integrated in their graphic rigueur more illustrative elements. Some artists sometimes coming from the alternative cultural movements- did not hesitate to take very different ways. Today the adventure of Swiss poster art is pursued with a vitality that picks up more momentum.

Gallery Talk: Fri. 2th December 2005, 4 pm - 5:30 pm
Venue:DNP Ginza Bldg., 5th floor (seating capacity: 70) RSVP!
Speaker: Jean-Charles Giroud

Schedule

Dec 2 (Fri) 2005-Dec 22 (Thu) 2005