Documentary Exhibition for the 2026 Commemorative Year
Art historian Laurie Bischoff works at the Musée d’art et d’histoire de Genève, which houses Giovanni Giacometti’s remarkable 1899 self-portrait. Since 2021, alongside her museum work, she has been preparing her doctoral dissertation at the University of Geneva, focusing on Alberto Giacometti and the emergence of his legacy in 1966.
The starting point of her research is the artist’s death on January 11, 1966, followed four days later by his funeral. Among those in attendance were several members of the editorial board of the French literary journal L’Éphémère, including Jacques Dupin, Yves Bonnefoy, André du Bouchet, Michel Leiris, and Gaëtan Picon, as well as the publisher Aimé Maeght. The dissertation is supervised by Professors Jan Blanc and Nathalie Piégay, professors of Art History and French Literature at the Universities of Lausanne and Geneva, respectively.
Laurie Bischoff’s documentary exhibition begins with the death of Alberto Giacometti and concludes with the publication of the first issue of L’Éphémère in January 1967. The events of 1966 are explored through several thematic sections: the events of January 1966 in Chur, Stampa, and Paris; those of March 1966 in Denmark—most notably the inauguration of the sculpture Woman on a Chariot in Holstebro—as well as events in Paris and Basel during May and June 1966. These are complemented by material related to the filming of Switzerland (Switzerland’s official cinematic contribution to Expo 67 in Montreal) and by an examination of the dialogue between the Ticino painter Felice Filippini and Giacometti throughout 1966 and beyond.
Each section includes three to six photographs accompanied by explanatory texts and is presented in the former shooting range building in Stampa. A summary of Laurie Bischoff’s doctoral research, based on the exhibition presented in Stampa during the summer of 2026, will be published in Issue No. 2 of the Gazzetta di Stampa, the cultural journal of the Giacometti Center.
Laurie Bischoff’s documentary exhibition forms part of the Giacometti Center’s broader cultural program for 2026. The program also includes the video installation Introduction to the Giacometti Family, the photography exhibition Alberto Giacometti in Stampa and Maloja, and a public symposium in which specialists on the life and work of Alberto Giacometti will explore key aspects of his artistic activity in the Bregaglia Valley.
Marco Giacometti
President, Centro Giacometti
Top photograph: Herbert Maeder
With the support of:
