LUCERNE.- The oldest art academy in German-speaking Switzerland celebrates its birthday in 2017. Over the past 140 years, and under various names, the Hochschule Luzern Design & Kunst has trained countless sculptors, drawing teachers, illustrators, textile designers and fine artists. Some came to study in Lucerne and stayed, others grew up in Central Switzerland and then went elsewhere. What has become of those former students? What topics are they pursuing? In what media are they working? With the three-part exhibition series Fortsetzung folgt (To be continued), the Kunstmuseum Luzern and the akku Kunstplattform address these questions by means of current works by about 20 artists aged between 30 and 84 years.

To begin with, Kunstmuseum Luzern is showing works by Jonas Burkhalter, Karin and Didi Fromherz and Andri Pol at the Kunstmuseum Luzern. All three positions focus on us human being, on how we organise our lives and the structures we surround ourselves with. This also includes the provisional to clever solutions we find for our more ore less daily problems.

Jonas Burkhalter may not photograph a lot of people, but he does focus on the traces they leave in their surroundings. His installations refer therefore to how we shape our habitat, from temporary constructions to guidance systems. For this exhibition he has developed a large installation inspired by a trip to the U.S, where he was struck by artificial mountains near farms, tarpaulins concealing rubbish or equipment, weighted down by car tyres and exhibiting a sculptural quality of their very own. The documentary photograph series by Andri Pol revolves around the theme of water and is partly the result of a commission from NGOs. Without pointing a finger, but with an eye for detail and surprising moments, he documents the significance of and the threat to resources all around the world. In doing so he is always interested in the concrete stories of the people in his images. In the animated film High Noon Karin and Didi Fromherz prolong a fraction of a second – the ritual popping of a cork from a champagne bottle on New Year’s Eve – to the length of a short film and, with a wink, refer to gender roles and cinema history.

On 21st October starts the solo exhibition of works by Barbara Davi, at the vernissage of which the museum will also be celebrating her recently published monograph Train of Thought. The series will close with another group exhibition, with works by Anton Egloff, Filib Schürmann and Katharina Anna Wieser. At all three vernissages, performances will take place either at Kunstmuseum Luzern or akku Kunstplattform.