Art & design, Literature

Start of the Giger Year in Chur

23. April 2024

The city of Chur and the Bündner Kunstmuseum are dedicating a series of exhibitions and events to HR Giger to mark the tenth anniversary of his death. The Giger Year begins on May 3 with the book launch of "HR Giger. The early years" at the Bündner Kunstmuseum.

HR Giger was born in Chur on February 5, 1940. He grew up on Storchengasse, where his father ran a pharmacy. The somewhat gloomy family home served him as a large playground and adventure land. There was even room for his own ghost train, which ran from the entrance to the house through the hallway to the backyard on Scharfrichtergasse. As a young boy, Giger visited the Rhaetian Museum every Sunday morning for a while to marvel at the mummy of Ta-di-Isis. Later, he set up the legendary "black room" in his parents' house, where an Egyptian burial chamber was a must. All these magical worlds discovered in Chur, which both frightened and attracted him, have been reflected in the artist's works since the beginning of his career. His first works were finally published in "Sprachrohr", the school magazine of the cantonal school in Chur. His artistic career began to take shape and finally it was once again a friend from his days in Chur who encouraged him to give art his all.

Today, Giger is regarded as one of the most outstanding figures in Swiss art and design history and even those Chur residents who found his art rather alienating are now secretly proud of him. The great son has left his mark on Chur. The sculpture "Torso with long skull", affectionately known locally as "Alien", stands in front of the art museum. A discreet memorial plaque adorns his parents' house on Storchengasse. The square next door was named after him and the impressive stork fountain was given 21 aluminum plates with a "biomechanical" pattern based on the original. The Kalchbühl Center is also home to the Giger Bar, whose entire interior was designed by the artist.

HR Giger died in 2014 at the age of 74 following a fall. To mark the tenth anniversary of his death, the city of Chur and the Bündner Kunstmuseum are organizing the "Giger Year in Chur" with various exhibitions and events. To kick things off, Charly Bieler will be presenting his publication "HR Giger. The early years" at the Bündner Kunstmuseum. A little later, the exhibition of the city of Chur opens its doors in the Stadtgalerie. Entitled "HR Giger and the City of Chur", it presents works by the artist closely associated with Chur as well as originals from the city's art collection. After a short summer break, an exhibition on Giger's "Zodiac Fountain", which was originally conceived for the forecourt of the Giger Bar but never realized, will also open in the Stadtgalerie. The Chur "Pro HR Giger Association" is committed to ensuring that this fountain can be realized in a suitable location in Chur city centre in the medium term. The Giger Year will conclude with an exhibition at the Bünder Kunstmuseum entitled "HR Giger - the Chur years", which will include original photos from Charly Bieler's publication. The exhibition opens on September 13.

To accompany the Giger Year, Chur Tourism is offering a guided tour of the city of Chur on the life and work of Giger.

The events of the Giger Year in Chur:

• Friday, May 3, 2024, in the foyer of the Bündner Kunstmuseum
  Book launch "HR Giger - the early years 1940-1962"
• Thursday, May 16, 2024, at the Stadtgalerie Chur
  Vernissage of the exhibition "HR Giger and the City of Chur". Exhibition until August 11, 2024.
• Thursday, September 12, 2024, at the Stadtgalerie Chur
  Opening of the exhibition "Zodiak". Exhibition until September 29, 2024.
• Friday, September 13, 2024, at the Bündner Kunstmuseum  
  Opening of the exhibition "HR Giger - die Churer Jahre". Exhibition until November 24, 2024.

Note: This text was translated by machine translation software and not by a human translator. It may contain translation errors.