The magical world of the picture book at Gewerbemuseum

I know a lot about picture books. I loved them as a child, I have greatly enjoyed the pleasure of reading them with three of my own children, spanning at least 20 years, and I have recently completed a diploma in Book Illustration.

And we are all in great company – picture books have been around for more than 120 years – over a century of readers entranced by the colour, rhythm, journey of discovery and sheer magic of this genre of literature.

So I couldn’t wait to go along to the latest exhibition at the Gewerbemuseum Bilderbücher: illustriert & inszeniert (Picture books: illustrated & staged)

I love the Gewerbemuseum. It is light and airy and FUN! As I make my way up the stairs to Floor 1, halfway up, I am confronted by a wall of colours – well, the names of all the colours in black apart from Orange and Gelb, lit up as their colours. Informative and art, bundled together in a big ball of cheer, a theme that encompasses the entire outlook of the museum.

At the top of the stairs it all begins with a question:

‘Is there anything quite like a picture book?’

The exhibition goes on to celebrate that fact, by presenting wave on wave of splendid picture books to be picked up, absorbed and cherished while reclining in one of a multitude of two-seater seats provided especially for the exhibition.

It begins with four examples of contemporary books spread out along the corridor demonstrating the power of the picture – four wonderfully surprising and vibrant stories without words – Herr Grau und Frieda Fröhlich by Binette Schroeder (Zürich 2021) Krokodrillo by Giovanni Zoboli and Mariachiara Giorgo (Münster 2018) Kuchen für das Krokodill by Claudia Werth (Vienna 2021) and Das Rote Buch by Barbara Lehmann (Zürich 2021)

You can then head into a large room full of funky lamps, comfy chairs, bespoke tables…and BOOKS – books lying around everywhere, hanging from the ceiling, splayed out across the walls. Books that take you on a journey through a dazzling array of the Great and the Good going right back to Edward Lear in 1871.

I like to think of myself as a bit of a book connoisseur, but there were many new stories and authors for me to enjoy – highlights include the brush and pencil illustrations of Albertine an observer of people and surroundings, drawing anywhere, anytime and making sketches in notebooks, exploring new, ever evolving formats on different types of paper.  I love Les gratte ciel (2011), where she copys the image of the growing house from the previous page and pastes it in the next step in order to continue building on it, up and up until it reaches the sky and beyond!

Tangibility is key to this event – books everywhere to pick up and consume, a special interactive pop-up book section (who doesn’t love a pop-up book?) and the weird and wonderful world of the more grown up style of graphic fare – I couldn’t put down Treiben Lassen by Peter Van de Ende, a story charting a little paper boat’s adventures around a world of beautifully detailed and imaginative fantasy creatures enfolded in dreamy black and white.

There is so much more to enjoy and I don’t want to spoil all the surprises and pleasures that await visitors to this wonderful exhibition. Go check it out for yourself!

Exhibition runs until 23^rd October. Price is 12CHF.