Projects

translation not available – PARIS SANS FIN - Lithographies originale de Alberto Giacometti. 2018 bis 2019

translation not available – „Paris sans fin“ von Alberto Giacometti – eine Hommage an die Stadt der Städte in 150 Lithografien. Das 150 Einzelblätter umfassende Mappenwerk gilt als Vermächtnis seines grafischen Schaffens und ist zugleich dessen Kulmination. «Paris sans fin» zeigt die Orte und die Menschen, die dem Künstler wichtig waren. 1969, drei Jahre nach Alberto Giacomettis Tod, veröffentlichte sein Freund, der Verleger Tériade, dieses Werk. Alberto Giacometti war Ende der 1950er-Jahre bereits ein berühmter und reicher Künstler, doch seine eigenen Ansprüche und Lebensgewohnheiten änderte er nicht. Im Café-Tabac Le Gaulois nahm er am frühen Nachmittag ein bescheidenes Essen zu sich, am Abend war für ihn ein Tisch in der Coupole reserviert. Sonst bewegte er sich in Paris kaum ausserhalb seiner gewohnten Umgebung. Das änderte sich, als Alberto Giacometti 1958 die damals zwanzigjährige Prostituierte Caroline kennenlernte, die seine Geliebte und sein Modell wurde. Er kaufte ihr einen roten MG, und während sie durch Paris fuhr, zeichnete er auf dem Beifahrersitz seine Stadt, sein «Paris sans fin». more

translation not available – César - Un mois de lecture des Bâlois, 1996

translation not available – Durch seine Kompressionen ist César zum Meister der künstlerischen Wiederverwertung industrieller Produkte geworden. Angezettelt von Klaus Littmann präsentierte César in Komplizenschaft mit Peter Knapp und Littmann den Besuchern der ART Basel, 1996, "die Monatslektüre der Basler“, eine gigantische Mauer von 720 Tonnen Ballen aus Papier zu Wiederverwertung. Gelesenes und Ungelesenes eines ganzen Monats, Tages-, Wochen- und Monatsblätter. Fünf Blöcke 5m x 6m x 7m gestapelte Ballen zu je 144 Tonnen. Es wurde im Gesamtwerk von César das grösste Kunstwerk und war dazu die Krönung der 100-Jahr-Feier der Altpapierfirma Robert Lottner AG, Basel. more

translation not available – KULTURGÜTERWAGEN, 1991

translation not available – Klaus Littmann und seine Künstlerfreunde haben ein „Gesamtkunstwerk von Leben und Tod, Sex und Gewalt, aber auch grüner Hoffnung“ inszeniert. Die Idee entstand beim Lesen über die Propagandazüge, mit denen die Bolschewiki ihre politischen Programme in die entlegensten Gebiete des Riesenreiches trugen. Eine Zugkomposition, angefüllt bis unters Dach mit Kunst von Jean Tinguely, Ben Vautier, Daniel Spoerri, Bernhard Luginbühl, Jim Whiting, Eva Aeppli, Klaus Littmann. Die Künstler haben sich nicht vorgängig untereinander abgesprochen, doch durch die eigenartige Zugkomposition zieht sich ein roter Faden: Entstanden ist das Bild einer postmodernen Gesellschaft, die zwar sehr mobil ist, aber, statt ihre gewaltigen Probleme (Umweltzerstörung) anzupacken und ihre Verbrechen (Völkermorde) zu verarbeiten, geistig vor Ort tritt, und wie zu Zeiten des Barocks dem Spiel ebenso frönt wie der Lust, die eh nur Frust verspricht. Der Mensch hat längst begonnen, sich aus seiner Verantwortung zu schleichen. more

Canal Street, Arlesheim / Basel 2015

Schorenweg 9, Arlesheim June 12 - 27, 2015 Friday and Saturday 12pm to 8pm June 15 - 20, 2015 daily 12pm to 8pm more

Zwischennutzung 1. basel 2013

Zwischennutzung 1 is the first in a new series of temporary art interventions by Littmann Kulturproject in commercial spaces. more

CHINESE – AMERICAN Photo portraits by Mathias Braschler and Monika Fischer. Basel, 2011

From 1 June to 1 July 2011, Littmann Kulturprojekte will be using the vacant former Lidl shop on the first basement floor (1. UG) of Sternengasse 19 to showcase photo portraits from the US and China by Mathias Braschler and Monika Fischer. more

THE MASS IS ENDED

Mit «The Mass is Ended» wird unsere Ausstellungsreihe zu Phänomenen der Alltagskultur weitergeführt. Die von Littmann Kulturprojekte konzipierte Ausstellung zeigt rund 50 Bilder ehemaliger italienischer Kirchen des Fotografen Andrea Di Martino in der leerstehenden Kirche Don Bosco im Basler Breitequartier. more

translation not available – Unser Burma. Basel 2016

translation not available – Ein fotografisches Tagebuch von Regina und Alex Fischer - 27. Oktober 2016 bis 22. Dezember 2016 more

Water Notebook 2022/23

A few years ago, Klaus Littmann observed a man in China who, with calligraphic care, dipped his brush in water and wrote words of wisdom on the floor. The action was closer to a meditative act than to rebelling against political circumstances. Klaus Littmann now appropriates the peaceful act to share his discomfort publicly. Meaningful sequences from his Water Notebook are now making the rounds on instagram and facebook: BE WATER MY FRIEND - Bruce Lee's poetic verse is gone just as quickly as NO WATER NO LIFE, or: THERE IS NO PLANET B - water blackens the gray ground in circles before heat cuts out islands and grimaces from the simulation of our planet and finally erases everything. more

NIKI DE SAINT PHALLE - Works 1962-1980, Basel 1985

In the art summer of 1985, Klaus Littmann showed a representative cross-section of the artist's oeuvre in his then premises and, as an outdoor project, the sculpture "Grande Tête", 1970, in the garden of the Kunsthalle restaurant. more

Limited Edition by Brad Downey

Brad Downey Shovels Propped, 2013 more

WHAT I LIKE, 2023/24

Under the title "WHAT I LIKE" at St. Johanns-Vorstadt 33 in Basel, I regularly showcase projects, ideas, sketches, art, both the familiar and the unknown in the front space. In the back part of the room, a small cabinet of curiosities is growing with old and new objects, precious and mystical works. This space is intended not only to serve as a source of visual inspiration but also as a meeting point for exchange. Moreover, it aims to provide the opportunity to engage with current events. more

STOREFRONT 2021 | 2022

Klaus Littmann initiates a new art and cultural interim use in Basel in cooperation with the Kulturstiftung Basel H. Geiger / KBH.G. more

Floating Anamorphosis Art Islands - A temporary Art Intervention by Klaus Littmann

Marina Bay (Singapore) will serve as the setting for a unique painting consisting of different sized islands of contemporary artistic paintings floating on the water. more

The Blue Gold: A street action by Klaus Littmann 2022

The past summer set new heat records. Europe’s forests are prematurely yellow or are on fire, politicians are gearing up for winter in the face of a potential energy shortage. And while Pakistan has been submerged in the floods of an epic monsoon, the city of Basel is testing the invention of mist showers. This innovation aimed at containing peak temperatures in concreted urban spaces is where Klaus Littmann comes in. His campaign is temporary in nature, does not involve any technology, and evaporates as tracelessly as the clouds of mist that the city-canton emits to counter climate change. Is this a recipe for a smart city? Is this what measures for the sustainable use of our most important resource look like? more

ARENA FOR A TREE, Basel 2021 / Zurich 2022 / Venice 2024

Venice: Arsenale Nord, April 17 to July 30, 2024. During the 60th Art Biennale in the summer of 2024, a floating platform bearing a circular wooden structure will be moored a short distance away from the international exhibition: Arena for a Tree. more

JARDIN DES PLANETES, Basel 2018 - Graz 2021

Real Fiction Cinema, Switzerland 2010-2012 / China 2015-2016

Real Fiction Cinema is a temporary art intervention by Littmann Kulturprojekte in collaboration with artist Job Koelewijn. It is a mobile cinema featuring real-life images which can be seen at various locations throughout Switzerland. more

translation not available – CENTRAL STATION, Basel 2016 bis Ende 2018

translation not available – Eine temporäre Kunst- und Alltagskulturintervention mit Kunst- und Kulturangeboten, Konzerten, Lesungen, Läden, Larry’s Bar. Und viel Freiraum für Ungeplantes. Im Dezember 2016 wurde die temporäre Kunst- und Alltagskulturintervention CENTRAL STATION eröffnet. Im Untergeschoss am früheren Migros-Standort Kirschgarten an der Sternengasse 19 in Basel baute Franz Burkhardt nach einer Idee von Klaus Littmann eine Stadt in der Stadt, eine begehbare Kunstinstallation im Untergrund, ein Ort der Begegnung, des kulturellen Austauschs und der Gastfreundschaft, ein Ort der immer wieder neu entdeckt und genutzt werden konnte. "Die erste monumentale soziale Skulptur mit Nutzanwendung im Weltformat" (Zitat Hans-Peter Platz, Journalist). Nun ist die Zwischennutzung nach zwei spannenden Jahren, in denen gestaltet, gestaunt, verändert, realisiert, bewegt, kreiert, verworfen, gearbeitet und einiges mehr wurde, vorbei. Wir danken allen herzlich, die uns in dieser Zeit auf unterschiedlichste Art und Weise unterstützt und begleitet haben, wir danken allen Helferinnen und Helfern für ihr persönliches Engagement, wir danken fürs Kommen und Mitmachen, wir danken für all die schönen und interessanten Begegnungen. Kurzum: Wir danken für die lehrreiche und abenteuerliche Zeit, aus der wir viel mitnehmen. Ein grosser Dank gebührt nicht zuletzt den Hausbesitzern, die uns den Raum auf 2000 Quadratmetern als Zwischennutzung zur Verfügung stellten. Dezember 2016 bis Dezember 2018. more

Skultur II. Basel 2013

SKULTUR II - a temporary sculpture park by Klaus Littmann in Schützenmattpark Basel, 2013. Skultur II, these were sculptures and installations by local and internationally renowned artists, which formed a sculpture park of a very different kind during half a year. Among them were well-known names such as Keith Haring, Markus Lüpertz, Bernhard Luginbühl or Martin Disler. They also included temporary installations that, with a bit of luck, you could catch in the park - or miss. For example, an inflatable F-16 fighter jet suddenly stood on the green lawn, or passers-by became public opinion leaders with "easyVote." The sculpture park was not just a pretty exhibition, but a lively place of debate. Skultur II was also questioning what public space actually is, should be and is allowed to be. more

Do It Yourself Art. Madrid 2011

Art that produces art or that anyone can produce is "do-it-yourself art". The work of art is reproducible by design; artists write instructions on its use or create objects with which anyone can reproduce works of art as often as they like. Do-it-yourself art is art rendered democratic, shorn of its mystic aura and the artist's status as a solitary creative genius. more

SENTEURS ET COULEURS DU MAROC, Marrakesch 2000

An art and exhibition project by Klaus Littmann Basel architects Susanna Biedermann and Max Alioth created a centre for Moroccan culture right in the beating heart of the medina of Marrakesh. The inaugural exhibition at their Dar Bellarj (“House of the Storks”) featured an intervention by Klaus Littmann on the theme “Senteurs et Couleurs du Maroc.” more

TREE CONNECTIONS, 2021

The exhibition curated by Klaus Littmann in the rooms of the Kulturstiftung Basel H. Geiger shows the diversity of artistic engagement with nature. On display are around 75 works by 45 artists. more

Nach den Gesetzen des Zufalls geordnet. Basel 2013

Zur Gestaltung der GGG Bibliothek / Jugendraum - eine temporäre Farbintervention von Littmann Kulturprojekte. more

"FOR FOREST – The Unending Attraction of Nature", a temporary Art Intervention by Klaus Littmann. 2019

"FOR FOREST – The Unending Attraction of Nature" was a temporary art intervention by Klaus Littmann that transformed the Wörthersee football stadium in Klagenfurt into Austria’s largest public art installation from 8 September – 27 October 2019. We would like to thank all our partners, employees, facilitators, supporters, tree adopters, sponsors, all clever minds and diligent hands who have made possible the largest art intervention in public space ever realised in Austria. But above all we would like to thank more than 200’000 visitors! PART OF FOR FOREST were more than 40 organizers with almost 150 events that attracted over 40,000 visitors. We would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere thanks to all the institutions that have enlivened Klagenfurt in the two months with the FOR FOREST supporting program! "FOR FOREST – The Unending Attraction of Nature" is listed among the THE BEST PUBLIC ART of 2019 by Artsy, Dezeen's TOP 10 INSTALLATIONS of 2019, designboom's TOP 10 large-scale artworks of 2019, Hypebeast's TOP 10 ART MOMENTS OF 2019 and the best photos of the art year 2019 from Monopol. Over 80 countries covered FOR FOREST. more

Fliegende Katakomben. Zürich 2010

Littmann Cultural Projects is inaugurating the new Projektraum 455a venue provided by Trudie Götz at the "Wöschi" – a former laundry complex in Zurich-Wollishofen – with the installation "Fliegende Katakomben" (Flying Catacombs). more

CHAMBER MUSIC A temporary Cabinet of Art and Curiosities by Littmann Kulturprojekte

For the period from 19 May to 20 June 2010, Littmann Kulturprojekte is installing a temporary Cabinet of Art and Curiosities (Kunst- und Wunderkammer) in the basement of Kirschgartenstrasse 5 in Basel. The display comprises various old and new artefacts as well as precious and mysterious works by anonymous artists of international repute. Visitors can look forward to a spectacular mix of surprises and contrasts. more

Alexander Rodtchenko, Photographer. Basel 2010

Alexander Mikhailovich Rodtchenko’s work covers paintings, objects, design, graphics and architectural projects. He invented novel solutions for each medium. more

Chinetik, Museum Tinguely, Basel 2009

Is the Chinese tricycle a means of transport or an ethnographic object of everyday use? Is it a stage for art or is it a work of art itself? more

Citysky, Basel 2008

Citysky creates new urban spaces and horizons in public spaces. The translucent street images will turn the firmament over Basel into an exciting world of experience that bathes inhabitants and visitors alike in brightly coloured and surprising worlds of art and artistry. more

Faces of Football. Vigo (Spain) 2008

The photographers Mathias Braschler and Monika Fischer have created a unique portrait series of thirty international football stars. more

The Stadium: A Cult Venue, Basel 2003

For 20 years we have been witnessing the phenomenon of a minority of European football stadiums being used as platforms for violent and discriminatory acts. more

Public Viewing, Shanghai 2007

“Public Viewing” is an artistic intervention in every day’s culture within public rooms. Suddenly and unexpectedly, signs on rods are displayed by individuals or a group of people, whose motivation – or in fact whose manifestation – reflect on people’s every day life, in a poetic but also embarrassing way. more

Christo & Jeanne Claude. Prints and Objects. Madrid 2006

This exhibition presents one integral aspect of Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s oeuvre, the print, photographs and object editions. Extremely varied in both content and technique, it evinces all of the approaches and procedures used in their large projects: wrapping surrounding – a silent obscuring of elements in the environment that temporarily deprives them of utility. more

Move for Life, Lyon 2011

A mobile art intervention against poverty, Aids, violence, racism and eviromental destruction more

The Art of SPIEGEL – Five Decades of Cover Illustrations, Basel 2005

There illustrations on the cover of SPIEGEL magazine are part of a long tradition. The artists behind them, such as Braldt Bralds, Boris Artzybasheff, Dieter Wiesmüller and Michael Matthias Prechtl, rank or have ranked among the world's leading illustrators. more

The Big Still Life, Museum Tinguely, Basel 2004

The exhibition Das grosse Stilleben (The Big Still Life) – Le Petit Grand-Magasin features a department store in Mugron in southern France that has survived largely intact some 30 years after it was closed. more

Punktleuchten, Basel 2004

With their situational installations, 22 national and international artists have transformed the premises of the former Basel tourist office - the future extension of the Three Kings Hotel on the Rhine - into an urban narrative space for various types of artistic and cultural expression. Punktleuchten brings together ideas, imagination and intervention and, with specific references to place, time and perception, has produced a panorama of contemporary art forms. It goes straight to the heart of the debate on ubaneness, anonymity, architecture and alienation, provoking new insights and a fresh outlook. The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue. more

Display Window, Basel 2002, 2003, 2004

Chance as a principle of design* – 12 colours – 137 cultural proponents were randomly selected by Gerald Laing and Peter Phillips to name their favourite colours**. more

Street Pictures, Basel 2003

15 national and international artists transformed 15 streets and squares in the city of Basel. This temporary cityscape intervention by Klaus Littmann placed the public spaces in a new and unusual dimension. It made allusions to the local area and used diverse means of expression that drew both on classical and modern visual images. Strassenbilder (literally: Street Pictures) created some unexpected new identities, perceptions and points of reference, thus contributing to the debate on the value, meaning and potential of public spaces. more

Engel, Basel Cathedral, 2002

A temporary art intervention by Tazro Niscino and Klaus Littmann. Over 30,000 visitors climbed the Basel Cathedral during six weeks to visit an angel in his living room. Tazro Niscino, Japanese artist and Klaus Littmann, created this installation. The little angel is a barely visible weathervane on the cathedral, which Niscino took out of homelessness and created a home for him. Thus our perception and our consciousness changed towards the legendary and hopeful angelic worlds in the cosmos of God. All the more so because Niscino, as a Japanese, was able to deal with the subject of the religious and sacred in an unbiased way. more

Frontside, Basel 2001

Viewed from this angle, "Frontside" was not a classic project for art in public spaces. It was not motivated by the kind of corrective approach more

Skultur, Basel 2000

To call the "Brick" project that Klaus Littmann has realized together with 11 sculptors, 11 Basel building firms and 11 or more sponsors an "intervention" would be to describe it badly - or at least insufficiently. more

Lumen 2318400, Basel 1999

Lumen macht die Messehalle von Theo Hotz, die ihr Innenleben selbstbewusst nach aussen kehrt, les- und fassbar. more