Image: Aargauer Kunsthaus, Aarau
The Aargauer Kunsthaus in Aarau is presenting ‘Gabi Fuhrimann. Sammlung im Fokus’, a focused display of works by the Aargau artist Gabi Fuhrimann, from 7 July through 8 November 2026. The exhibition brings together small-scale paintings from the museum’s collection, inviting close examination of Fuhrimann’s intimate, geometrically constructed compositions.
Fuhrimann (1958–2021) frequently worked with near-square formats. According to the Aargauer Kunsthaus, her paintings are built like mosaics, with colour structures that partially absorb the figures represented within them. Women often occupy the centre of these compositions, although the body can almost disappear into the surrounding arrangement of colour and form.
The museum describes the close viewing encouraged by these compact works as an intimate experience, comparable to looking at a devotional image. Figures appear reading, dancing or extending their arms. Their partial concealment leaves room for the viewer to project onto them: the institution writes that each viewer could potentially identify with the depicted woman, turning the painting into a possible projection surface or mirror.
The presentation also reflects the Aargauer Kunsthaus’s existing relationship with Fuhrimann’s work. The museum collected her paintings during her lifetime and has now dedicated a collection focus to her. The displayed works include ‘Ohne Titel’ from 1992, an oil painting on plywood measuring 31 by 32 centimetres; ‘Ohne Titel’ from 1994/1995, an oil painting on wood measuring 42.5 by 43 centimetres; and another untitled work from 1995, measuring 38 by 40.5 centimetres and also made with oil on wood.
A further work, ‘Ohne Titel’ from 1996, is painted in oil on plywood and measures 30 by 30 centimetres. The museum identifies this painting as a gift from the Hugo and Mariann Suter Foundation made in 2023, while several of the other works are listed as acquisitions by the Aargauer Kunsthaus. All of the displayed works are credited to the estate of Gabi Fuhrimann.
The Fuhrimann display forms part of the Aargauer Kunsthaus’s 2026 programme of collection-based exhibitions. It is presented during the same period as ‘Verwandtschaften. Sammlung 26’, which examines relationships between works through family likenesses, recurring subjects and formal or technical affinities. The museum will hold a joint vernissage for the two collection presentations and the exhibition ‘Künstliche Kreativität’ on 25 September 2026, from 6 to 10 p.m., with free admission and an apéro.
The programme around Fuhrimann includes an open studio on 27 September, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Drawing on her works, participants will experiment with painting, collage and drawing, including self-portraits, figures in space, abstract forms and minute details. The exhibition is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with extended hours on Thursdays until 8 p.m.
