«Sprachbilder – Bildsprachen» — open art museum

An interdisciplinary exploration of Adelheid Duvanel in the form of a workshop, exhibition, theater performance, and roundtable discussion at the open art museum in St.Gallen

In collaboration with the University of Geneva, the open art museum invites you to the one-day event “Language Images – Visual Languages” to rediscover Adelheid Duvanel from various perspectives: as an author, as a visual artist, and as a figure whose work continues to move, unsettle, and fascinate to this day.

Through lectures, talks, and discussions, the event explores how literature and visual art intertwine in Duvanel’s work and why her body of work is receiving so much attention once again, particularly today. A special highlight is an excerpt from the new play Chrüsimüsi by directors Eléonore Bonah and Maria Clara Castioni, based on stories by Adelheid Duvanel. Even before the world premiere at the Bühnen Bern on September 18, 2026, the event offers a first glimpse into this new theatrical exploration of Duvanel’s texts. The event will conclude with a panel discussion on current perspectives on Adelheid Duvanel. The event is open to anyone who is already familiar with Adelheid Duvanel or would like to discover her work for the first time. No specialized knowledge is required—just an interest in literature, art, and an artist whose work defies simple categorization.

Adelheid Duvanel (1936–1996) is one of the most distinctive voices in 20th-century Swiss literature. Her short, precise stories open up worlds that can be at once ordinary and strange, funny and profound, tender and unsettling. Since the new edition of her complete short stories, titled Fern von hier (*Far from Here*), was published in 2021, her work has become accessible to a wider audience. Since then, interest in this extraordinary author has been growing steadily.
 In recent years, other facets of her work have come to light: her letters, published under the title Nah bei dir (*Close to You*), and her columns, feature articles, and reviews in Es gibt Tage (*There Are Days*). They reveal Adelheid Duvanel not only as a writer of incisive short stories, but also as a keen observer of everyday life, a perceptive commentator, and an artist whose writing is closely intertwined with imagery. For Duvanel’s work extends far beyond literature. Her artistic estate at the open art museum in St. Gallen and at the Swiss Literary Archives in Bern includes numerous drawings and paintings: some delicate and surreal, others expressive and rendered in bold colors. These works reveal how closely words and images are interwoven in her creative practice. The current exhibition “Adelheid Duvanel” at the open art museum, on view through October 18, 2026, is also dedicated to this interplay.

A collaboration between the open art museum and the University of Geneva, supported by the Swiss Literary Archives in Bern.