Isabelle Bscher Art World Powerhouse

 

                            

Galerie Gmurzynska

 

New York City’s Isabelle Bscher is a Swiss gallerist and art historian who studied in London and New York, where she earned a master’s degree from Sotheby’s. Isabelle grew up in the gallery, which was connected to her house in its early years in Cologne, Germany, surrounded by priceless Picassos and glittering art-world personalities.

 

Third-Generation Woman-Owned Art Gallery

Picasso, Miro, Kandinsky & Louise Nevelson

 

Today, Isabelle lives between NYC and Zurich, Switzerland. She is the third generation to run Galerie Gmurzynska, the gallery founded by her grandmother, Antonina Gmurzynska, in Cologne, Germany. Isabelle’s mother, Krystyna Gmurzynska, took over the gallery in 1985 and in 2005 relocated the flagship to Switzerland. Today, both mother and daughter alongside brother, Lucas Bscher work together in four locations: two in Zurich, one in Zug and another in New York City. They represent major modern artists like Picasso, Miro, Kandinsky, and Louise Nevelson, as well as Karl Lagerfeld’s photography, Sylvester Stallone’s paintings, and architects Zaha Hadid and Richard Meier, who once designed their booth at Art Basel Miami.

 

 Alliances with Creative Geniuses

 

Zaha Hadid

 

“We’re well known for working with creative geniuses who might be from other backgrounds, like Zaha Hadid,” Isabelle explains. The gallery’s Paradeplatz location in Zurich houses the late architect’s very last interior project, a design for an exhibition celebrating Dada master Kurt Schwitters, in 2016. 

 

Christo 

Isabelle had a close relationship with Christo, with whom she collaborated on exhibits at various art fairs, like TEFAF and Art Expo Chicago, and she was stunned by the prolific artist’s death in May 2020 from natural causes. “I couldn’t believe it, I thought we’d work with him for many more years to come because he was, like, the fittest person in the room,” she says. “The last time I’d seen him he was so vibrant and healthy; I didn’t see that coming; I was quite shocked.” Galerie Gmurzynska is working with Christo’s nephew, Vladimir Javacheff, on organizing a Zurich show remembering the artist this fall. It will coincide with Christo’s wrapping of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, this September, a lifelong dream that he didn’t live to see completed.

 

Baz Lurhmann

 

Isabelle brought director Baz Lurhmann to work with the gallery, creating a classroom-like set for an Art Basel Miami show with the theme “My kid could have done that.” “You know how when people see great artwork and they say, Oh, my kid could have done that? So we took great masters, like Kandinsky and Twombly, and we showed why your kid couldn’t have done that.”

 

Anh Duong

 

Isabelle recently presented Anh Duong’s self-portrait exhibit. Duong’s solo show was dubbed “La Tentation d’Exister,” or “There is always Champagne in the Fridge.” The sumptuous show leads viewers into her life’s most intimate moments, painting herself exposed and dissociated in what she calls “still-live paintings.” As an artist whose career began by posing for photographers, Duong’s self-portraits pose questions about femininity and how women armor themselves. Duong’s artistic perspective is inspired by her interests as an actor and model as well as other artists such as her former lover Julian Schnabel, Donna Karan and John Galliano. Duong said, “When I paint myself, I use a true mirror. So, it’s a reflection of the reflection, so it’s actually the real me.”

 

Prince Albert & Jean Pigozzi 

Other upcoming exhibitions in New York and Zurich include a show of Jean Pigozzi’s collection of contemporary Japanese artists, and works by photographer Ezra Petronio, founder of Self-Service magazine. “He’s a legend in the fashion world, he’s also probably the best art director in the fashion world,” Isabelle says. “People love his Polaroids that are sort of in the tradition of Warhol, so we’re now preparing a show of his photos.”  Isabelle’s charitable passions include the environment, and in recent years she has worked often with Prince Albert and his Foundation on saving the oceans.  gmurzynska.com