Today the Fondazione Garbald runs a think tank and leads the open mind of the Garbald family into the present. For this it has at its disposal the villa designed by Gottfried Semper and the newly built tower realised by the architects Miller & Maranta. But it is first and foremost the house as such and the library, which is still in situ, that act as a reminder of the builders and former residents of the Semper-villa. It was deliberately desisted from creating a Garbald museum or rooms full of memorabilia. And while today the Bündner Kunstmuseum may use the villa as an outpost, we too are well aware of how exceptional the place is and don’t use the premises as a gallery or exhibition space but to create new impulses through art.

More than ever in the anniversary year (150 years Villa Garbald, 10 years think tank Garbald), we want to live up to this aspiration while at the same time revive the Garbald spirit and mirror the past in the present. Thereby we also take into account that the rediscovery of this special world in Castasegna was committed from the beginning to a seeing and thinking that roots in the present.

For the anniversary it is Katalin Deér, once again an artist, who is looking at the work, giving it a new take and showing it from a different perspective. Conducting artistic research with her camera, she photographed the Garbald photos at the archive and in the exhibition. What comes to light is the photographic eye: she shows us how Andrea Garbald looked at things; how Andrea Garbald’s people, animals, things and houses are objects and subjects at the same time.

Address: Villa Garbald, 7608 Castasegna
Opening: Saturday, May 31, 6 pm, Villa Garbald
Introduction: Stephan Kunz, Director Museum of Fine Arts

Catalogue: Katalin Deér. Eco Echo Garbald, hrsg. v. Fondazione Garbald/Bündner Kunstmuseum Chur, Castasegna/Chur 2014, 24 pages, ISBN 978-3-905240-68-9.