House of Artists, La Sarraz, Switzerland

The House of Artists – an innovation of Madame de Mandrot – was founded in 1922 in the Castle “Château de la Sarraz.”
International congresses were organised by Madame de Mandrot at La Sarraz Castle, as
• The International Congress on modern architecture in 1928 or
• The International Congress called “The independent Cinema” in 1929, accompanied by a famous film shooting programme together with Sergueï Eisenstein.

Sculpture in the palace garden.

In the first half of the 20th century, the Castle « Château de la Sarraz » was a unique centre for exploring new horizons !
Architects, painters, sculptors and filmmakers were meeting in the frame of the House of Artists.

Visit through the Castle « Château de la Sarraz » (click on the ghost)

From the marketing point of view, the House of Artists is in a favourable situation. It has
- a impressive history and
- the European Heritage Label, since 2009.

Tradition is something to be proud. A solid background is the surest foundation on which to build the future.

Madame Hélène de Mandrot (1867-1948)

Hélène de Mandrot - Artist, Chairwoman und Maecenas, last Lady of the Castle „La Sarraz“ – was a key person in the frame of Swiss and International "Modernity".

Mme. Hélène de Mandrot.

Summer exhibition 2010 in the palace garden

Artist: Etienne Krähenbühl, Photo: Barbara Walt

Artist: Etienne Krähenbühl, Photo: Barbara Walt

Events 2009

European Heritage Label

02 October 2009
Château de La Sarraz, Switzerland

Golden past, brighter future !
The Saint Peter’s Cathedral in Geneva, the castle of La Sarraz including the House of Artistes and the Saint Gotthard Hospice are the first three Swiss sites to hold this label in honor of their importance to European history.
On 09 July 2009, this important recognition was presented by the Spanish minister of culture Mr. Fernando Gomez during a special event in Geneva.

Swiss Federal Office of Culture

On 02 October 2009, there was a special event at the castle La Sarraz to celebrate the label in honor. The Society "Les amis du château de la Sarraz" and the authority of La Sarraz invited members, sponsors and residents to assist.

Presentation of the House of Artists

Welcome in front of the Horse Museum by Pastis - a French horse form the Franche-Compté - and Swiss Alphorn Scenery.

Jean-Frédéric Jauslin, Director of the Swiss Federal Office of Culture.

MM. Laurent Chenu, Conservateur cantonal de la Division du patrimoine et François Marthaler, Conseiller d'Etat.

Le choeur mixte de La Sarraz.

Musical Celebration: Héloïse Chaubert et Lisa Escherlier.

Surprise in the palace garden: Le Cirque Shanju d'Ecublens.

High life in the cellar of La Sarraz Castle (Photo: Daniel Hauri, La Sarraz).

Pleine lune en duo - Projection et Concert
"Du haut avec projections", in honor of Sergueï Eisenstein, Pleine Lune Association..

10 July 2009
Château de La Sarraz, Switzerland

See the videos

Events 2008

Temporary Exhibition: "Au large des yeux"
Photos: Mario Del Curto

Octobre 2008
Château de La Sarraz, Switzerland.

Images of Imminence

Looking at Mario Del Curto’s images, I am impressed by his capacity for empathy and his perception of others’ point of view – in his case: the solidity inventor, the outcasts of art. Celestial tramps or cosmic craftsmen, these leading lights of spontaneously generated anti-academicism are revealed as characters offering a warm welcome rather than drawn towards ostentation or social niceties. Not that they hide away, but they have too much to do every day, embarked as they are on their ship of dreams, for them to arrive with bag and baggage to pose before the complacent lens of common or garden journalism.
Enzo Cormann.

Entrance area of the exhibition.

Let's go in!

The Artist's voice

The exhibition « Au large de yeux » is a new approach to particular artistic universes to which I have dedicated my work for several years now. Inspired by these wayside creators, I follow my heart and the irrepressible desire to pay homage to those who turn their lives into work of art.

These men and women are like you and me, but their total involvement in their endeavours makes them exceptional and often marginalizes them. Their experiences and the questions that they arouse are not in phase with our society. Their creation, off the beaten track of all academia, may even sometimes be stimulated by a lack of means; the result is of an unbelievable craftsmanship. With vital impetus, empty of any calculation or strategy, these creators call into being intimate and irrational worlds; the source of their expression seems to be thrown up from mankind’s archaic entrails.

Far removed from the narrow corridor of genres, I see myself as a gatherer, a picker of fruit growing on an interior tree.

It is this human potential which interests me, this pure poetry.

Mario Del Curto.

Interview (french) with sortir.ch

Mario del Curto.

Marcello Cammi, Bordighera, Italie
Over the years, in Cammi’s garden, where a stream runs down to the sea, over 500 concrete sculptures and “bas-reliefs” have taken on life and become immersed into the luxuriant vegetation of their surroundings. Cammi’s death was tragic: he was found dead near the cemetery where his son had just been buried.

Marcello Cammi.

Otagi-Nenbutsu-Ji Temple, Kyoto, Japon
In 1981, the famous artist Koei Nishimura (1915) Tendei priest of the new Otagi-Nenbutsu temple, made a public appeal to realize 1200 statues of Rakan, Buddha’s legendary disciples. For 10 years, he assisted the voluntary faithful, self-taught or professional, in carving the stone of this holly site, which had escaped from a typhoon in 1955.

Statues of Rakan, Otagi-Nenbutsu-Ji Temple.

Statues of Rakan, Otagi-Nenbutsu-Ji Temple.

Linda Naeff, Genève, Suisse
Of Swiss origin, Linda Naeff was born near Paris. In spite of terrible hardships which she encountered, she has always preferred action to self-pity. Her plastic works, which she began at the age of 60 with no training whatsoever, today include several thousands of painted or carved pieces. These represent a multitude of expressive figures made of recycled materials which are the mainstay of the artist’s daily life and proof of her insatiable need to create.

Linda Naef.

Linda Naef.

Henri Ughetto, Lyon, France
Henri Ughetto was born in Lyon in 1941. He was recognized as a painter very young, but became a different sort of artist at the age of 22, when he was declared clinically dead following a trepanation. Based on the themes of decay, time and death, his carved works are serial and ritualized. The accounting of the objects which form part of his sculptures and the constellations of artificial drops of blood are an integral part of his procedure.

Henri Ughetto.

1 barrel petroleum US. = 42 liquid gallons US

Instrument.

Luigi Lineri, Zevio, Italy
Lineri had collected flints for more than forty years, when he began progressively to focus more on the symbol than the object due to the different typologies that he discovered on the stones. He catalogued thousands of stones according the criteria of morphological affinities: human faces, phallus, dogs’ heads, fish, birds, etc. The piling up and the repetition of these strange ex-voto resemble an immense musical score and cause a feeling of vertigo.

Luigi Lineri.

Marilena Pelosi, Gauville la Campagne, France
Marilena Pelosi’s images are enigmatic and strange in the extreme, with their odd, bald figures undergoing the rituals of sadistic ceremonies, their mummified men or executioner-angels and their battalions of insects buzzing among all the accessories and organs of the female body.

Marilena Pelosi.

Pietro Angelozzi, Saint-Gall, Suisse
An Italian immigrant, established in Switzerland for a long time, Angelozzi was, literally thunderstruck by seven visions; these flashed down from the sky like an intense light and threw him to the ground. He has been given the mission to relate his visions to the world, through drawings accompanied by legends.

Pietro Angelozzi.

The workshop CREAHM (creativity “Handicap”) Fribourg, Switzerland.

In the old wine cellar.

Thanks for the outstanding exhibition.

Pioneers following the spirit of Mario Del Curto.

Temporary Exhibition:
« Pioneers of the 20th century at La Sarraz »

3 July to 31 August 2008
Château de La Sarraz, Switzerland.

This exhibition entitled « Pioneers of the 20th century at La Sarraz » allowed showing the splendid radiation of the House of Artists in the frame of design, architecture and modern art.

During the opening ceremonie, Mr. Gilbert Coutaz from the Archives of Lausanne and Mr. Claude Frossard, winner of a special award sponsored by the House of Artists, were present.

Laurent Zali, Catherine Staub and Guido Walt.
Photo: J.Ph. Daulte.

Exhibition

Claude Frossard, winner of a special award.

Many thanks to Mrs. Barbara Walt - curator - for this outstanding exhibition.

End of July, Mr. Urs Staub, Swiss Federal Office of Culture was our guest. He was impressed by the quality and the content of this exhition.
This meeting also allowed to speak about future developments.
During the visit of the castle, he offered the maintenance work for a canapé "Aubuisson". Perfect restoration was assured by Mrs. Sabine Sille.
Many thanks to the address of the Swiss Federal Office of Culture.

The canapé "Aubuisson" after its restoration by Mrs. Sabine Sille.

The House of Artists:
The showcase for young artists

Participants of the The International Congress called “The independent Cinema (CICI)” in 1929.

Temporary Exhibition:
Alexandre Calame

4 May 2008
Château de La Sarraz, Switzerland.

The Jungfrau area, Bern

The castle of Thun

The Simplon road - no highway.

Our friends

Please do not hesitate to contact us:
Walt Guido
President of the House of Artists
Arzillier 8
Vufflens-la-Ville
p +41 21 701 05 13
m +41 79 677 47 13
w http://www.wear-management.ch
e guido.walt@wear-management.ch