On 22 May 2024, The Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (MCAD) Manila will open Heidi Bucher: and pull yesterday into today, a selection from the oeuvre of renowned Swiss artist Heidi Bucher (1926–1993), as part of the launch of the Benilde Open Design + Art, which thematically explores the curious mindset in celebration of the 35th year of De La Salle College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB).
The exhibition Heidi Bucher: and pull yesterday into today comes to the Philippines as the third and last leg of Bucher’s Asian sojourn, after successful outings at Art Sonje Center in Seoul, Korea, and the Red Brick Art Museum in Beijing, China.
Bucher, a groundbreaking artist of the international neo-avant-garde, studied fashion and textiles at the Zurich School of Arts and Crafts under Johannes Itten, a key member of the Bauhaus. Bucher’s practice developed to such an extent to encompass architecture, spatial installations, drawings, sculptures, and collaborative performances.
The breadth of Bucher’s practice resists the categorization of artistic disciplines; she encourages the capacity of art to speak across disciplines and challenge our preconceived ideas of what we think when we think of art. She tested materials—textiles for architecture, architecture in the air, collages on silk, and sculptures as performances—seeking to bring nature into her art.
Trained as a dressmaker, Bucher was fascinated by the interplay between art and fashion as highlighted in her genderless body sculptures Bodyshells and Bodywrappings, which emerged in California in the early 1970s. These wearable body sculptures will be reproduced for the exhibition by MCAD and Production Design students from DLS-CSB, in collaboration with The Estate of Heidi Bucher. Performances featuring the said sculptures will also be mounted by students of the Bachelor in Performing Arts, Major in Dance program throughout the show.
MCAD Manila is at the G/F of the Design + Arts Campus of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde. Free to the public, the museum is open Tuesdays–Saturdays, 10 AM–6 PM; and Sundays, 10 AM–2 PM, except holidays. Book your visit at https://www.mcadmanila.org.ph/visit.
