Heiner Hoerni Collection

"I bought most of it on instinct," says Heiner Hoerni, now 87, a collector from Thurgau, looking back on his enthusiasm for art. Heiner Hoerni, born in Amriswil in 1938, first completed an apprenticeship as an electrician and later founded his own engineering and planning company. In the end, relying on his own instincts was by no means unreasonable: today, the collection, which has grown to around 900 works since the 1970s, is an impressive reflection of Swiss art of the last half century. Important names such as Silvia Bächli, Martin Disler, Franz Gertsch and Andrea Heller are represented. But international positions such as Katharina Grosse, A. R. Penck and Georg Baselitz have also found their way into this important private collection, which is based on a fundamental interest in the new. The appeal and impact of a work play a key role here. Mainly paintings - including numerous large formats - are gathered under four thematic focal points: Tranquillity and restlessness, exterior and interior worlds allow visitors to immerse themselves in a personal universe in four themed rooms. As multifaceted as the collection, expressive action painting meets geometric austerity - strong colors join quiet artistic gestures. With over 80 works, the exhibition at the Kunstmuseum Thurgau offers the largest insight into this private collection to date. It was first shown in 2022 at the Kunsthaus Zofingen, the collector's home town. Art historian Thomas Schmutz, advised by the collector's daughter Simone Hoerni, is publishing the book "Fundus" with Scheidegger & Spiess. It will be published in time for the vernissage. With works by Silvia Bächli, Georg Baselitz, Michael Biberstein, Martin Disler, Sam Francis, Franz Gertsch, Katharina Grosse, Andrea Heller, A. R. Penck, Mette Stausland, Annelies Štrba, Christine Streuli, Hugo Suter, Kaspar Toggenburger, Thomas Woodtli, Beat Zoderer and many others.