Major Swiss museum acquisition proves far larger after extra works revealed in donor’s unopened portfolios

The Musée des beaux-arts de La Chaux-de-Fonds in western Switzerland discovered that a donation from Swiss collector Philippe Bodenmann is larger than first announced: 218 works rather than 150, after unopened portfolios were inventoried, according to museum director David Lemaire. The museum had initially briefed political authorities in 2025 based only on works visible at Bodenmann’s premises. The full gift is on view in “Voyages en zigzag: La collection de Philippe Bodenmann” (running until 3 January 2027), spanning Anglo-American conceptual art, Zurich Concrete art, and the Swiss Neo-Geo scene, with artists including Joseph Kosuth, Lawrence Weiner, Royden Rabinowitch, Hamish Fulton, Richard Long, and Max Bill. Lemaire highlighted Kosuth’s 1985 “Intentio (project)” and Andreas Christen’s untitled 1998 monochrome relief as key additions, noting Bodenmann placed no conditions on the donation.

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