Zurich, Switzerland — While Art Basel typically commands global attention in June, Zurich Art Weekend has steadily emerged as a distinguished prelude to the fair. From June 13 to 15, 2025, Switzerland’s largest city will transform into a hub of contemporary and historical art, hosting more than 75 exhibitions across 70 venues, encompassing galleries, museums, universities, foundations, and off-spaces.
Launched in 2018, Zurich Art Weekend has become more than a warm-up act to its Basel counterpart, instead asserting itself as a vital cultural event in its own right. This year’s edition introduces Gallery House, a new satellite art fair presenting 14 galleries in a 430-square-meter venue at the city’s center.
The weekend is free and open to the public and will feature over 150 events including guided tours, workshops, performances, and readings. Zurich’s vibrant gallery ecosystem—ranging from international names such as Hauser & Wirth to cutting-edge venues like Blue Velvet—will present an eclectic slate of exhibitions. Institutions such as Kunsthaus Zürich and Museum Rietberg will also offer major shows, underscoring the city’s far-reaching cultural wealth beyond its reputation as a financial capital.
Key Exhibitions to Watch
Suzanne Duchamp at Kunsthaus Zürich (Through September 7)
Kunsthaus Zürich presents the largest retrospective to date of Suzanne Duchamp, a key yet often overlooked figure of the Dada movement and sister to Marcel Duchamp. The exhibition showcases around 50 paintings and 20 works on paper spanning her five-decade career. Incorporating Cubist and Dadaist elements, as well as later depictions of landscapes and figures, the show reevaluates Duchamp’s significant yet underappreciated legacy in modern art.
Pat Steir: “Song” at Hauser & Wirth (June 13 – September 13)
Renowned American painter Pat Steir unveils a new chapter of her iconic “Waterfall” series. These large-scale, color-saturated abstract works explore gravity, chance, and meditative process. Created with gridded chalk-line backgrounds and layered paint flows, the canvases represent an evolution of her decades-long practice. The exhibition coincides with the release of Pat Steir: Paintings, a new monograph covering works from 2018 to the present.
Augustas Serapinas: “Šakotis” at Galerie Tschudi (June 13 – August 2)
Lithuanian artist Augustas Serapinas draws inspiration from the traditional Eastern European cake Šakotis for his latest sculptural series. Made from gold-colored cast bronze and resembling layered tree rings, the works continue Serapinas’s exploration of historical memory, cultural heritage, and public space through playful, tactile forms.
Thomas Ruff: “expériences lumineuses” at Mai 36 Galerie (June 13 – August 9)
German conceptual photographer Thomas Ruff presents a series focused on the physics of photography. His “expériences lumineuses” works document light rays, glass refractions, and studio-based visual experiments, resulting in abstract images that reference Geometric Abstraction and Dada. Ruff’s practice challenges perceptions of authorship and photographic truth.
“A Love for Detail – Indian Painting from the Museum Rietberg Collection” (Through June 29)
The Museum Rietberg offers a scholarly and visually rich exhibition of Indian painting, presenting 60 works from its expansive 2,000-piece collection. The exhibition contrasts Mughal and Rajput styles and integrates contemporary responses from artists such as Shahid Malik and Donia Qaiser, highlighting the region’s evolving artistic traditions.
Saint Clair Cemin at Tobias Mueller Modern Art (June 13 – September 20)
Brazilian sculptor Saint Clair Cemin explores fluidity and form in a survey that juxtaposes new works with highlights from his decades-long career. Known for stainless steel sculptures that reflect and distort their surroundings, Cemin’s practice weaves influences from surrealism, classicism, and modernism into inventive, often enigmatic forms.
Mónica Mays: “ridden” at Blue Velvet (June 13 – July 26)
Spanish artist Mónica Mays brings together autobiography and material experimentation in her second solo exhibition at Blue Velvet. Her sculptural installations, assembled from salvaged domestic and industrial debris, mimic carnival rides in decaying form. These “paradise machines” critique desire, memory, and the transformation of discarded materials into emotive artworks.
As Zurich Art Weekend continues to expand its footprint and ambition, the 2025 edition cements the event’s role as a major cultural destination. The program’s diversity, ranging from canonical retrospectives to experimental installations, affirms Zurich’s position as a city where global and local art scenes converge.
