In the exhibition, Susanna Koeberle and Esther Eppstein discuss thirty years of the “message salon” and the significance of the exhibition venue on Zwinglistrasse in Zurich’s 4th district, which holds particular importance for the artist and is linked to her family history and, consequently, her journey into the world of art.
The practice of the salon is also a central focus of the artist talk. Esther Eppstein named her art space message salon partly in reference to the tradition of European and American salons, which were often shaped by women of Jewish origin, such as the American writer Gertrude Stein, who lived on the Rue de Fleurus in Paris and welcomed many famous guests to her salon – from Pablo Picasso to Ernest Hemingway – thereby securing her place in the history of modern art.
Gertrude Stein and her partner, Alice B. Toklas, also appear in Esther Eppstein’s current exhibition. The multimedia artist Amos Angeles, who has been active at the message salon since the Perla-Mode era, is presenting the limited edition “Space Edition”of his fruit bread “Goldstei” to mark the salon’s 30th anniversary – a work of art with a unique history and impact. The significance of these stones may be linked to the recently rediscovered correspondence between the world’s most famous salonière Gertrude Stein, and the city’s well-known salonière, Esther Eppstein, also known as Madame l’Ambassadeur.
Susanna Koeberle is a cultural journalist and a board member at Omanut; she lives in Zurich.