Exhibition tour ‘A dream of a ball gown’ open art museum

‘A dream of a ball gown’ is the first public exhibition of artistic works from the UPK Basel's picture storage. The exhibition extends the Hidden Treasures from Swiss Psychiatric Clinics series, which draws attention to collections and artistic convolutes that are unknown to the public.

Following the presentation at the University Psychiatric Clinics (UPK) Basel between December 2024 and March 2025, the exhibition can now be seen at the open art museum, the centre for Swiss Outsider Art, Art Brut and Naive Art - supplemented by additional works that provide a deeper insight into the collection. The aim is also to open up new perspectives on healing art and creative ways of promoting mental health.

Most of the works from the UPK Basel picture collection were created by patients on site between 1960 and 1990. On the one hand, they are a reflection of society and the understanding of psychiatry and mental health at the time. On the other hand, they are direct testimonies to an individual and often intensive examination of personal life motifs and the constant struggle for the right form and the right material.

The works on display act as social seismographs. They reflect the perception of the world at different times in a personal, direct way. The works tell of the search for stability, for meaning - and of the approach to what is, as well as to what is lost or hidden and longed for.

The exhibition JEANNETTE VOGEL shows expressive animal drawings by the artist, who works with coloured pencil, felt-tip pen and paper. Her unconventional animal motifs - from rhinos to zoo animals - appear direct and at the same time enraptured.

Jeannette Vogel loves to draw animals. No other motif plays a greater role in her work. In her characteristic simplistic style, she draws a wide range of native animals. Or exotic animals that she sees on trips to the zoo or circus. She uses coloured pencil, felt-tip pen and paper. The only collage on display shows a rhinoceros. Jeannette Vogel usually places her creatures in the centre of the page. They stand for themselves and manage to fill the empty space with their presence with ease. Some appear rather awkward, others are so voluminous that they push against the boundaries of the leaf. The assignment to a species is often unclear and ultimately irrelevant. Where it seems important to the artist, she adds the names. If the classifying gaze recedes into the background, the individual expression takes on more weight: the creatures appear curious, self-confident, caught out, shy, sad, tired and as bold as if they were getting ready to jump out of the picture and lead a life of their own. The humans remain insignificant compared to the animals, reduced to outlines and without personality.