Accompanying the first exhibition of outstanding British artist Mark Wallinger's paintings in Switzerland, this catalogue focuses on his large-scale Action Paintings, complemented by a series of new, polychrome small-scale paintings. Despite their many differences from the works of French Impressionism the collection of the Museum Langmatt is centered around, light and movement remain the central elements here as there. A homage to the term coined by Harold Rosenberg who claimed that for action painters the canvas was not a representation but an extension of the mind itself, these performative works move from image to action. Created by sweeping paint-laden hands across the canvas in active freeform gestures, they make intense reference to the body, intensified by the use of plasticine which creates soft, relief-like effects.

It is interdisciplinary teams with complex compositions that develop and realise exhibitions. Groenlandbasel directs a network of specialists and with Spaces and Stories enables an insight into the cooperation and the dedicated efforts of a wide range of involved parties. Exhibition thinkers and exhibition makers express themselves alongside each other in essays, shorter highlights and interviews. The texts are accompanied by a diverse selection of projects by Groenlandbasel: museum developments, special and permanent exhibitions, architecture, as well as indoor and outdoor installations. With text contributions from: Dominic Huber, Director Rimini Protokoll, Zurich; Nina Gorgus, Curator Historical Museum Frankfurt; Ramon De Marco, Sound Designer Idee und Klang, Basel; Daniel Tyradellis, freelance curator, Berlin; Beat Hachler, Director Alpine Museum of Switzerland, Bern; Sibylle Lichtensteiger, Director Stapferhaus Lenzburg. Text in English and German.

Eric Hattan is known for his canny interventions in public places and causing surprise by thwarting the familiar order. This is also the case at the Museum Langmatt, which invited the Swiss artist to playfully intervene on its premises. The historic villa with its mahogany parquet flooring, fine carpets, chandeliers, and manicured garden provides a contrasting foil for Hattan's installations, composed of worn clothing, metal parts, and other less exquisite materials. Five o'clock Shadow documents the ensuing dialogue that spans from the rich contrast between the present and the Belle Epoque, and shows how the venerable building is being tangibly enlivened.