Petignat Collection Donated to MASI Lugano

Jocelyne and Fabrice Petignat have donated their collection of over 650 works to the Museo d'arte della Svizzera Italiana (MASI) in Lugano, where it will be housed at Palazzo Reali. The collection, built over forty years, focuses on video art, feminism, punk influence in visual arts, and contemporary painting renewal. It includes early works by Pipilotti Rist, Vanessa Beecroft, Miriam Cahn, Nan Goldin, Jamie Reid, and Wolfgang Tillmans, as well as pieces by Marina Abramović, Alighiero Boetti, Christian Boltanski, Heidi Bucher, and Maurizio Cattelan. The donation process began in October 2024 with two rooms at Palazzo Reali used for inventory. MASI director Tobia Bezzola welcomed the gift, noting it enriches the museum's holdings of Swiss artists from the 1950s-60s generation and expands its international scope. The Petignats cited their deep ties to Ticino as a reason for choosing MASI as the collection's permanent home.