Five years of art and culture in the Engadin: St. Moritz Art Masters celebrates its 5th anniversary! From 24 August to 2 September visitors can look forward to a very special edition of St. Moritz Art Masters. Under the motto „ A perfect anniversary“ the event will be celebrated in style with 10 days of impressive and extraordinary exhibitions. The anniversary of St. Moritz Art Masters started as early as February when the famous American photo artist David LaChapelle exhibited his works. The unique festival of art and culture – SAM for short – traditionally links art with the region and its natural surroundings and again extends over the entire Upper Engadin. This year the Walk of Art connects around 30 exhibitions from Maloja to S-chanf – an itinerary which can be explored by visitors in free guided walks or on their own.

Another fascinating and maybe even controversial platform is this year’s national focus “Brazil”. Artists from this up-and-coming country such as Vik Muniz, Adriana Varejão, Saint Clair Cemin, Roberto Cabot and Carlito Carvalhosa will present their works in several exhibitions throughout the entire Engadin. Again this year SAM offers a supporting programme in addition to the manifold anniversary exhibitions: a symposium, workshops and inspiring panel discussions.

For five years now this art and culture festival with its many facets has inspired art enthusiasts from Switzerland and abroad, and each year it attracts more visitors to the Engadin at the end of the summer season. Within the past five years SAM has invited hundreds of artists to the region: they have left their traces and – in turn – have come to know the region and its cultural features. This fact alone would be reason enough for the motto „ A perfect anniversary“, but SAM celebrates at the same time the five-year cooperation with its “partners in art”: Bank Julius Baer, Mercedes-Benz and Cartier have all supported SAM from the start. Moreover, there are all the cultural institutions, museums, renowned national and international galleries with regional affiliations as well as the traditional 5-star hotels which have acted as important partners for SAM since its beginnings. They will all have their special exhibitions in this anniversary year.

In this anniversary year, SAM will put a special focus on Brazilian art and culture, and with good reason: on the one hand, the Brazilian art scene has emerged to figure among the leading international art scenes, on the other hand, the first building in Switzerland by the great Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer has been completed on the shores of lake St. Moritz. And there is of course Paulo Coelho, the renowned Brazilian writer and SAM supporter of the first hour. Budding and established artists from this up-and-coming country will show their works and complete some of them on the spot.

Walk of Art
In harmony with nature the Walk of Art succeeds in connecting the landscape and regional features with art. This has been one of the explicit aims of SAM in the past five years. “Exceptional discoveries“ out in the open, at historical venues, in cultural institutions, museums and renowned galleries have become the unique trademark of SAM. The Walk of Art is a comprehensive art itinerary covering St. Moritz and the entire region; visitors can explore it daily in guided tours or on their own. In the Julius Baer Art Lounge at the Posthaus interested guests can book one of the guided tours which take place daily and are free of charge. In its anniversary year, the Walk of Art will offer even more art stops and exhibitions than in the years before. Visitors may start their itinerary, for instance, high above St. Moritz at the walk-in art work “Hermit” by Brazilian artist Thiago Rocha Pitta, they will continue past the oversized sculptures of the “Tai Chi Pinguin” by Saint Clair Cemin right in the centre of St. Moritz’ pedestrian area and finally end up 500 metres below their starting point at the work “Mediamorphosis” by Roberto Cabot in the parking Serletta.

SAM and its “partners in art” will celebrate their joint anniversary among other events with unique and special exhibitions which will also be part of the Walk of Art. Bank Julius Baer will present an exhibition by the internationally renowned artist duo Lutz & Guggisberg in the Paracelsus building. Lutz & Guggisberg, masters in the art of using the most diverse media and materials, will stage their latest video works and sculptures for ten days at the Paracelsus building. An exhibition by Vik Muniz in the protestant church of St. Moritz will be a further highlight; it is also supported by Bank Julius Baer.

The presented series “Verso” by the Brazilian artist consists of a group of three-dimensional trompe-l’oeils which show the reverse sides of famous paintings such as “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon”, Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” and Seurat’s “La Grande Jatte” – works that Muniz has studied and photographed in detail over a period of six years. The joint anniversary contribution from Mercedes-Benz in the shape of a huge fountain sculpture (Miffy Fountain) by Tom Sachs, will certainly cause a sensation in front of the Badrutt’s Palace Hotel.

Several SAMposion events in the form of artist talks are planned to take place at the Julius Baer Art Lounge; exact dates will be available soon at www.stmoritzartmasters.com . The series of symposiums „Engadin Art Talks“, the Kempinski Grand Hotel des Bains which has become a centre for photography and the Nira Alpina Hotel in Silvaplana will all be a mainstay of SAM with their exhibitions created by Amedeo M.Turello.

In the context of the photographic exhibition “The Expression of Identity”, curated by Amedeo M.Turello there will again this year be a photo workshop on 31 August and 1 September 2012. The workshop enables participants to get rare insights into the photographic methods employed by Amedeo M.Turello, Jock Sturges and Steve McCurry, the official photographer of the Pirelli Calendar 2013.

The Expression of Identity
The exhibition “The Expression of Identity”, curated by Amedeo M.Turello documents in several individual shows the exceptional intimacy and power of photography. The animatedly surreal images by Cheyco Leidmann, the postmodern eccentric works by Occhiomagico (Giancarlo Maiocchi) or the carefully cultivated aestheticism of Albert Watson finally culminate in the hopeful visions of Bettina Reims. Female portraits by Yossi Loloi, dramatically lyrical works by Matteo Basilé and the impressive works by Lucien Clergue guide the visitor to the photography of Jock Sturges which testifies of the unity of woman and nature. On the afternoon of 30 August there will be a talk at the Julius Baer Art Lounge at the Posthaus where the above-mentioned photographers will take part. For further information, also on the evening event „Tribute to the Photography“ on 30 August 2012, please consult www.stmoritzartmasters.com

Engadin Art Talks
The Engadin Art Talks / E.A.T., a Symposium on Art and Architecture, is taking place on 25 and 26 August at Lyceum Alpinum, Zuoz. This year artists, architects and designers have been invited to talk about their “Visions for the Alps”. The participants will discuss and philosophize on visions and projects that have been conceived for the mountains or inspired by them. The symposium with top-level guests will be led by Hans Ulrich Obrist, co-director of the Serpentine Gallery London, and Beatrix Ruf, director of the Kunsthalle Zurich. Founding director is the Zurich based publisher Cristina Bechtler.

Contributers: Vito Acconci, Ron Arad, Hans Danuser, Paulo Sergio Niemeyer, Mai-Thu Perret, Porta Alpina / Arthur Loretz, Raqs Media Collective, Tobias Rehberger, François Roche, Rolf Sachs, Urban-Think Tank / Alfredo Brillembourg & Hubert Klumpner, Philip Ursprung (additional guests will be announced in July)

St. Moritz Art Masters Foundation
The St. Moritz Art Masters Foundation (SAM Foundation) was created in 2009 by the founders of St. Moritz Art Masters. The foundation aims at supporting and presenting projects of exceptional, internationally-aspiring artists who focus on the global language of culture. The artists and selected projects will have the opportunity to present themselves at the St. Moritz Art Masters and to use the platform of the event.

Project 2012 „Black Box“
Kerim Seiler is to erect a structure on the roof of the Crystal Hotel for St. Moritz Art Masters and thereby continue a project he began in Johannesburg: the roof sculpture serves as a temporary atelier for an artist with a “Relay” scholarship for the next St. Moritz Art Masters. The idea for “Relay” (situationist space program), a network of sculptures with architectural functions, is taking shape in St.Moritz. It is a sculpture that can be inhabited by its spectator, enabling a synthesis of space and time, place and spirit. A work as a dramatic stage where the spectator becomes author, where actors and audience merge.

The St. Moritz Art Masters Foundation Night in support of the Foundation will take place on Friday, 1 September 2012, in St. Moritz. To get more information and book a table / tickets contact foundation@stmoritzartmasters.com or the website as from early July.

Information on St. Moritz Art Masters 2012, the complete programme as well as impressions from previous years are available at www.stmoritzartmasters.com.

This information website contains not only the list of exhibitions, events, the SAMposion, art talks and panel discussions, but also contacts for art enthusiasts in connection with SAM 2012.

St. Moritz Art Masters
Office St. Moritz P.O. Box 82
7500 St. Moritz
Phone +41 81 833 10 28
Fax +41 86081 833 10 28
info@stmoritzartmasters.com
www.stmoritzartmasters.com