Vision & mission statement
Since its opening in 2005, the Zentrum Paul Klee has been the most important place in the world for research and engagement with the work and artistic personality of Paul Klee and presents exhibitions on outstanding artists of the 20th century. As an interdisciplinary cultural centre, the Zentrum Paul Klee combines the visual arts with music, literature and agriculture, and has also made a name for itself as a conference and event venue.
At the heart of the Zentrum Paul Klee is the exploration and communication of Paul Klee's work. Other programmes in the fields of music, literature and agriculture as well as a lively events programme complete the unique profile of the building as a cultural centre and multi-disciplinary venue. The Zentrum Paul Klee houses the world's largest collection of works by Paul Klee, with 4,000 paintings, watercolours and drawings, archives and biographical material from all creative periods. In a place characterised by nature and culture, architecture and landscape, we offer new approaches to one of the most important artists of modernism. Based on Klee's pictorial thinking, his multifaceted oeuvre and his broad horizon of interests, we open our eyes to far-reaching themes. We present the collection with a changing focus and organise exhibitions on artists or content that reveal new connections to Paul Klee and his time.
The starting point for this is Klee's contacts with artists around the Blaue Reiter in Munich, the Dada movement in Zurich, Surrealism in Paris and the Bauhaus, where Paul Klee taught. We want to show how important international networking was for the development of Paul Klee's artistic work and professional career. We also address themes in Paul Klee's work that are still relevant to society today.
Due to the openness of his art and the numerous points of reference that his work and thinking make possible, Klee is also of great importance for artists of subsequent generations. Klee's work was mainly received by artists on other continents, which we want to convey to a wide audience in exhibitions. Paul Klee is still a frequently cited reference today. Exhibitions with living artists are therefore part of our programme.
The Zentrum Paul Klee can count on the generous support of the founding Müller and Klee families. Permanent loans from the Klee family enrich our collection with important works by Paul Klee and artist friends. Other important supporters of our work are collectors and permanent lenders of works by Paul Klee in Switzerland as well as the international Friends of Paul Klee, in particular the Paul Klee Society in Japan and the American Friends of Paul Klee in the USA.
Since 2016, the Zentrum Paul Klee and the Kunstmuseum Bern have been under joint strategic and operational management as part of an umbrella foundation.
