Arp, Cahn, Magnelli, Taeuber-Arp
The art of donation

Sunday, 5 April 2026 – Sunday, 1 November 2026

Over the past ten years, the Fondazione Marguerite Arp has received numerous donations from private individuals. In many cases, these are works that Hans Arp or Marguerite Arp-Hagenbach once gave to friends and which now, decades later, are returning to the Fondazione to complete the collection, thus closing the circle of giving.

The exhibition presents works by “house” artists Jean Arp (1886–1966) and Sophie Taeuber-Arp (1889–1943) in dialogue with those of Marcelle Cahn (1895–1981) and Alberto Magnelli (1888–1971), four outstanding figures of 20th-century modern art, linked by deep friendship.
The body of works by Marcelle Cahn in the collection of the Fondazione Marguerite Arp is the most important in Switzerland, a selection of which that can now be exhibited cover the period from the 1950s to the 1970s. These are given context by archive documentation, such as the correspondence between Cahn and Arp. This reveals both the great admiration Cahn had for her mentor and the support she received from Arp from the time the pair had met in 1929 in Paris in the group “Cercle et Carré”.
With regard to Alberto Magnelli, recently donated works enable a presentation of works that trace his artistic development from the 1920s until the 60s. Those that were already part of the collection had been donated by Magnelli to Arp and Taueber-Arp, such as the splendid 1940 collage À mes amis Sophie et Jean. 

Curated by Simona Martinoli