Masterpieces from the 15th to 19th century from the major collections of the Prince of Liechtenstein will enter into a dialogue with artworks from the 20th and 21st centuries from the collection of Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, accompanied by loans from the Hilti Art Foundation Collection and the Batliner Collection.
The Princely Collections contain superb works of European art, paintings and sculptures from the early Renaissance to Austrian Romanticism. The collection of Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein is devoted to modernist art and particularly to contemporary art, with the holdings of the Hilti Art Foundation and the Batliner Collection featuring masterpieces from classical modernism to contemporary art. The aim of this meeting of collections is to attempt something new. For the first time, the collections of the Prince of Liechtenstein will appear in a dialogue-based presentation together with works of art from the 20th and 21st centuries, bringing the past and present together in a vivid manner.
In this way, the exhibition Liechtenstein. On the Future of the Past pursues a special narrative. Juxtaposing works from different eras, the show opens up a dialogue and allows visitors to experience the continuity of fundamental questions concerning the history of humankind: against this backdrop, the criteria for selecting the exhibits are based on content. The four rooms on the upper floor are each devoted to a particular theme: from "Earth" to "Portrait" and "Human" and finally "Art". Each of these chapters is designed to enable visitors to experience a fruitful meeting of the past and present that gives cause for confidence for the future.
In this respect, the exhibition makes a substantial and worthy contribution to the anniversary programme.
Curated by Johann Kräftner, Director of LIECHTENSTEIN. The Princely Collections, Vaduz–Vienna, Friedemann Malsch, Director of Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, and Christiane Meyer-Stoll, curator and member of the Executive Board of Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein. The main sponsor of the exhibition is LGT Bank AG, Vaduz.
