With Caroline Bachmann, Stefan Banz, Louis Béroud, Joseph Beuys, Anne Bigord, Stefan Burger, James Lee Byars, Franz Eggenschwiler, Franz Gertsch, Josef Graf, Fritz Huf, Christian Kathriner, Richard Long, Ken Lum, Urs Lüthi, Nils Nova, Markus Raetz, Peter Roehr, Pamela Rosenkranz, Dieter Roth, Markus Schwander, Sonja Sekula, Sturtevant, Hugo Suter, Sebastian Utzni, Ben Vautier, Danh Vo, Aldo Walker, James Welling, Robert Zünd

The theme of imitation and copy is as old as art itself. From Antiquity to the 19th century, art has striven to be the most precise imitation possible of external nature. Since modernism, art has increasingly been making itself its theme. Since Marcel Duchamp’s famous readymade, art as reference or citation became an artistic strategy.

Master forgers work non-stop for rich collectors and commissioners who would much prefer to have a copy of a “Leonardo Da Vinci” in their homes than an origi- nal by a less famous artist. After all, it is quite legal to make a copy of a work 70 years after the death of the originator. By the way, the Kunstmuseum Luzern also has its very own copy of the most copied icon in art history: Mona Lisa.

In the context of our Collection Presentation, we would like to look into these phenomena of imitation, emulation, copy and repetition. The selection is complemented and consolidated by additional works on loan.