Berta Balzli

Berta Balzli (* 1920 in Ittigen ; † 2010 ; entitled to live in Bolligen ) was a Swiss Art Brut painter.

life and work

Berta Balzli was the youngest of four children in a family of small farmers in Kappelisacker in Ittigen (formerly Bolligen) near Bern. She graduated from the farmer's school, but couldn't find a job. At the age of 26 she married a small farmer who had a fatal accident after eleven years of marriage and left her with two daughters, one of whom was disabled. She lived in Worblaufen and only began painting at the age of around 60, and also took lessons from the Munich painter Leopold Schropp.

Characteristic of Berta Balzli's pictures are ethereal female figures: «People who seem to form in an indefinite space and seem to dissolve again. The pictures are dreamy and characterized by lyrical sensitivity. Her color palette is transparent and gentle, but never sweet. "

Works by Balzli can be found in the museum in the warehouse in St. Gallen and in the possession of the city of Bern .

Exhibitions

1989/1990 Christmas exhibition , Kunsthalle Bern (group exhibition)
1990 Poetry and Originality , Gallery «ist», Burgdorf (double exhibition)
1993/1994 Christmas exhibition , Kunsthalle Bern (group exhibition)

2013 AugenBlicke , Museum im Lagerhaus, St. Gallen (group exhibition)

2020 ÜberMütter , Museum im Lagerhaus, St. Gallen (group exhibition)

literature

Ulrich Loock and Elfriede Elsenwenger: Res Althaus, Giro Annen, Berta Balzli, Kunsthalle Bern, 16.12.1989–11.1.1990. Catalog, Bern: Kunsthalle, 1989.

Web links

Biography and work pictures on the website of the museum in the warehouse
Balzli, Berta. In: Sikart

Individual evidence

personal data
SURNAME	Balzli, Berta
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Swiss Art Brut painter
DATE OF BIRTH	1920
PLACE OF BIRTH	Ittigen
DATE OF DEATH	2010

[1] Exhibition review from 1990 .

[2] Explanations on the website of the museum in the warehouse in St. Gallen .