Mirjam Fischer – författare

The Klanghaus Toggenburg, located in the northeast of Switzerland and host to musical rehearsals, courses and concerts alike, is a place that enables visitors to experience a unique interplay of architecture, sound and nature. The Klanghaus in the Swiss Canton St. Gallen is the result of an impressive twenty-year development process: based on a concept by the late Marcel Meili, which won the 2010 thesis competition for the building, it was then realized by architect Astrid Staufer with the office Staufer & Hasler and opens its doors to the public in May of 2025. It is, at its core, a fundamentally social project, comprised of the work of all those involved in this process. Like the building itself, this publication is best understood as a research experiment intended to reveal new insights into sound and space. The book focuses on architectural aspects and constructive solutions for extraordinary room acoustics, as well as the interactions between the alpine landscape and natural yodeling or between the soundscape and the construction of the Klanghaus. It explores the many aspects of an extraordinary building, from the material vitality of shingles to the impressive conceptual proximity to the Ali Qapu Palace in Isfahan to the way ornaments become a visible expression of the essence of space and architecture itself. Combining various contributions from experienced and upcoming experts from fields as diverse as architecture, sound art, acoustics timber construction, ethnomusicology, art history, philosophy, history and tourism, this publication creates a polyphonic image. These texts are complemented by 3D architectural and construction drawings, photo series, musical scores and lyrical fragments.

Deserted Boat Drifting Towards the Moon brings artist Uwe Wittwer’s watercolours and writer and poet Jürg Halter’s lyric together in a multi-layered dialogue. Inspired by Japanese director Kenji Mizoguchi’s legendary movie Ugetsu Monogatari (Rain Moon Tales, 1953), they intend to trigger a new, imaginary film in the mind of the viewer-reader. It is not a self-contained story they offer. Rather, artist and poet have created a subtle play with hints, fragments, comments, and further narratives. Some of Wittwer's images are illustrative, others refuse a direct reading. Likewise, Halter's short poems in some cases are unambiguous and simple, some are equivocal and elude immediate access.In a poetic-painterly manner, the book explores questions such as “what is one's own in the foreign?”, “when does humanity turn into inhumanity?”, or “Is comfort to be found in art?”Text in English and German.

Swiss artist Maria Ceppi’s broad repertoire ranges from small-size works to monumental installations and sculptures, from site-specific to participatory projects. The theme of her works often revolves around the tension between naturalness and artificiality. Born in 1963, Ceppi completed her education at art schools in Switzerland and Paris as well as during a studio residency in Philadelphia. Throughout her career, she has been inspired by everyday life. For her works, she uses a wide variety of materials, such as soap, bronze, aluminum and other metals, plastic, or natural products, as well as countless found objects and components gathered from households, trade, and industry.Ceppi’s small objets cultes form a common thread running through her entire oeuvre of more than three decades. Found objects are stripped of their functional and meaningful context and transformed into new works with an autonomous sculptural presence in astonishing combinations and constellations. Especially in her recent monumental Hybrid Shapes, that transformation and merging come to unprecedented effect.This first-ever monograph on Maria Ceppi brings together her multi-layered and heterogeneous oeuvre and offers an insight into the artist’s exploratory and experimental method.Text in English and German.

The artist monograph presents a representative overview of the artistic work of Stéphane Zaech (* 1966). His paintings are technically sophisticated and are created through an investigation of the works of the old masters –Titian, Velasquez and Picasso. At the same time he distorts the “classical” picture types and translates them into contemporary art. Portraits of women artists painting, clad in a denim miniskirt and with flip-flops on their feet: Stephane Zaech’s works skilfully attract our attention – often through the bodies of his mostly female protagonists with their surreal addition of supernumerary arms and eyes. The facial expressions and gestures are invariably self-confident. The impressively designed monograph assembles over 100 paintings which were created in the past 10 years, permitting us to immerse ourselves in the fascinating world of Stephane Zaech.

For some forty years, Susi and Ueli Berger's work has been guided by the credo that 'only a new idea justifies a new piece of furniture'. Contrasts between product design and object art, and suitability for everyday use characterise their designs. A playful provocativeness and the combination of rationality and sensuality are additional hallmarks of the Bergers. In 2010, they were awarded Switzerland's most prestigious national design prize, the Grand Prix Design for their joint lifetime achievements at the interface of art, architecture, and design.Susi Berger-Wyss, born 1938 in Lucerne, trained as a graphic designer and worked with an advertising agency in Berne before she met and married Ueli Berger in 1962. Apart from their close collaboration in furniture and interior design, Susi continued to work as a freelance graphic designer and also collaborated with architects, developing colour and material concepts for interiors.Ueli Berger, born 1937 in Berne, trained as a painter and decorator and also attended classes at the city's school of art and design. 1959-61, he completed his artistic education during extended stays in Paris and Copenhagen and worked with renowned Swiss interior designer Hans Eichenberger. Until his passing in 2008, Ueli worked as an artist - creating a much recognised oeuvre in painting, drawing, and sculpture - and designer, and also held a number of teaching appointments at universities and art schools in Switzerland.Featuring a wealth of previously unpublished original drawings, plans, photographs, and promotion materials, as well as a catalogue raisonné of Susi and Ueli Berger's collaborative work and an illustrated biography, this groundbreaking book offers the first-ever survey of their life and oeuvre. It is published in conjunction with a retrospective exhibition at Zurich's Museum für Gestaltung in summer 2018.Text in English and German.