Artist
Heidi Bucher
Swiss, 1926–1993
Heidi Bucher was a Swiss artist. 1 work is cataloged here, principally at Museum of Modern Art. Heidi Bucher was born in Winterthur.
Overview
Heidi Bucher (1926–1993) was a Swiss artist interested in exploring architectural space and the body through sculpture. She was born in Winterthur, Switzerland and attended the School for the Applied Arts in Zurich. Her work dealt primarily with private spaces, the body, domestication, and individual and collective experiences.
Early work
Bucher's early work was mainly focused on the body. In the early 1970s, she moved to Los Angeles. While there, she collaborated with her then-husband Carl Bucher on Landings to Wear and Bodyshells. The large-scale, wearable works blurred the boundary between sculpture and apparel, and they were featured on the cover of Harper's Bazaar. An 8mm film shows the oversized foam "Bodyshells" in action on Venice Beach. They were showcased in an exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Crafts (now the Museum of Art and Design) in New York City and exhibited at LACMA in April 1972.
Later work
Bucher became more interested in the body's relationship to space in her later work. In the mid-1970s she began experimenting with a new technique, in which she soaked gauze sheets in latex rubber, and used them to cast the interior surfaces of the rooms of her grandparents' house in Winterthur, Switzerland. These were then pulled off in sheets to create thin, skin-like casts of the space; she referred to these casts as "Skinnings." In the 1981 film Räume sind Hüllen, sind Häute, showcased at the Swiss Institute, New York, Bucher captured the process of peeling off latex skins from architectural spaces, specifically her grandparents’ house, transforming everyday surfaces like walls and floors. Bucher's casting method, especially in works from the early 1980s, included slender bamboo poles to create relief in the latex skins, a technique not widely mentioned in official records. These were used to adapt to architectural details like inset paneling and door frames. In 2017, she was selected to be part of the main exhibition at the 57th Venice Biennale, VIVA ARTE VIVA.
Solo exhibitions
2018: Heidi Bucher, Parasol Unit, London, UK 2016: Hommage à Heidi Bucher und Carl Bucher, Kulturort Galerie Weiertal, Winterthur, CH 2014: Swiss Institute Contemporary Art, New York, USA 2014: Alexander Gray Associates, New York, USA 2013: Freymond-Guth Fine Arts, Zurich, CH 2013: Centre Culturel Suisse, Paris, France 2013: The Approach, London, UK 2004: Heidi Bucher – Mother of Pearl, Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Zurich, CH 1995: Kunsthaus / Barlach Halle K, Hamburg, DE 1993: Villa Bleuler, Galerie im Weissen Haus, Winterthur, CH 1993: Und ziehen das Gestern ins Heute: Die Häute aus dem Bellevue Projekt, Kunstmuseum Thurgau, CH 1983: Hauträume, Kunstmuseum Winterthur, CH 1981: Räume sind Hüllen sind Häute, Galerie Maeght, Zurich, CH 1979: Parketthaut / Herrenzimmer / Mobili, Galerie Maeght, Zurich, CH 1979: L‘Objet préféré de l‘artiste, Galerie Numaga, Auvernier, CH 1977: Einbalsamierungen, Borg, Galerie Maeght, Zurich, CH 1973: Bodywrappings, Esther Bear Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA, USA 1972: Bodyshells, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, CA, USA 1971: Soft Sculptures to wear, Museum of Contemporary Crafts (Happenings in conjunction with solo shows by Carl Bucher), New York, NY, USA 1971: Musée d’Art Contemporain, Montréal (Happenings in conjunction with solo shows by Carl Bucher), CDN 1958: Silkcollage, World House Galleries, New York, NY, USA 1956: Collagen, Galerie Suzanne Feigel, Basel, CH
Collections represented
Museum
Artists in a similar vein
