Marc-Olivier Wahler's 'Walk on the Water' Publication and Exhibition Stir Controversy at Geneva Museum
Marc-Olivier Wahler, who serves as the director of the Musée d’Art et d’Histoire in Geneva, is currently facing a petition signed by approximately 100 scholars calling for his removal due to what they describe as 'historical nonsense' in his exhibitions. His publication, 'Walk on the Water,' promotes the idea of curating as a form of creative expression and chronicles exhibitions that permit individuals to reinterpret Switzerland's oldest art collection. The debut exhibition by Austrian artist Jakob Lena Knebl merges contemporary and historical pieces, showcasing a nineteenth-century Venus sculpture in a shower cubicle alongside a print from Henri-Edmond Cross's 1908 artwork. The exhibition title alludes to a 1444 altarpiece by Konrad Witz and a song by Deep Purple, with the catalogue featuring an interview with Laurent Albisati and Jorge Luis Borges's 1975 tale 'There Are More Things.'
Key facts
- Marc-Olivier Wahler is director of the Musée d’Art et d’Histoire in Geneva
- Around 100 academics signed a petition demanding Wahler's dismissal
- The petition criticizes displays as 'historical nonsense liable to mislead the public'
- 'Walk on the Water' is a book edited by Wahler and published by Musée d’Art et d’Histoire de la Ville de Genève
- The book documents an exhibition series giving carte blanche to visiting personalities
- Austrian artist Jakob Lena Knebl was the first personality in the series
- Knebl's installation includes Jean-Jacques Pradier's Venus at Her Bath in a shower cubicle
- The exhibition references Konrad Witz's 1444 altarpiece and Deep Purple's song recorded in Montreux
Entities
Artists
- Marc-Olivier Wahler
- Jakob Lena Knebl
- Jean-Jacques Pradier
- Henri-Edmond Cross
- Konrad Witz
- Laurent Albisati
- Jorge Luis Borges
Institutions
- Musée d’Art et d’Histoire
- Musée d’Art et d’Histoire de la Ville de Genève
- Deep Purple
Locations
- Geneva
- Switzerland
- Montreux
- Lake Geneva