ArtCase
Developed to mark the 15th anniversary of the Fondation Gandur pour l'Art and structured around three themes — dressing, dwelling, and travelling — ArtCase offers a reimagined version of the classic game of snakes and ladders. Blending a race against time with the exploration of artworks and objects from the Fondation’s collections, the game invites players to engage with cultural heritage in an interactive and playful way.
Dressing
A meeting point between bodies and textile materials, the art of dressing — and of dressing oneself — has for millennia constituted a fundamental human practice, serving in turn as protection, tool, social marker, means of identification, belonging, or distinction.
In this first chapter of ArtCase, the snakes and ladders-style game conceived by the Fondation Gandur pour l'Art around its collections, clothing appears both as a tangible object and as a depicted element in painting, sculpture, or photography. It transcends time periods and geographic regions, giving rise to multiple narratives which, though diverse and far-reaching, are united by a shared purpose: to cloak human beings and their representations in a veil of dignity.
Abstract from Olivia Fahmy's introduction
Il mimo [Le Mime]
Artistic Foot(wear) [Pied(chaussure) artistique]
Umberto MARIANI
Il mimo [Le Mime]
November 1969
Acrylic on canvas
91.9 x 64.6 cm
FGA-BA-MARIA-0001
© Photographic credit: Fondation Gandur pour l’Art, Geneva. Photographer: André Morin © Umberto Mariani
Allen JONES
Artistic Foot(wear) [Pied(chaussure) artistique]
1966
Oil on canvas with a shelving in formica and a heel in varnished leather
93 x 92.3 cm x 10.7 cm
FGA-BA-JONES-0001
© Photographic credit: Fondation Gandur pour l’Art, Geneva. Photographer: André Morin © All rights reserved
Links between these artworks
Did Umberto Mariani’s gloves send you sliding down to the sheer stockings adorning Allen Jones’s feminine silhouette? It was inevitable. Landing on square 3 offers an opportunity to delve into the societal shifts surrounding the status of women in the 1960s.
As the structure of the traditional family began to evolve and women gained greater autonomy, representations of the female body reflected this emancipation. In Il mimo (The Mime), Umberto Mariani focuses on an aesthetic exploration of fabric, enhancing the elegance of gloved hands. Allen Jones, meanwhile, captures this transformation in Artistic Foot(wear) by highlighting the allure associated with the modern woman. Silhouettes were liberated, and clothing adapted to a new way of life.
Sitting beggar
The Charity of Saint Martin
Matthias KOLB, attributed to
Sitting beggar
Circa 1730
Ivory, limewood, and glass (eyes)
30 x 14.8 x 17.4 cm
FGA-AD-BA-0015
© Photographic credit: Fondation Gandur pour l’Art, Geneva. Photographer: Thierry Ollivier
The Charity of Saint Martin
1st quarter 16th century
83.5 x 64 x 33 cm
FGA-AD-BA-0184
© Photographic credit: Fondation Gandur pour l’Art, Geneva. Photographer: Thierry Ollivier
Links between these artworks
From a beggar in ragged clothing, you have risen all the way to square 53 — all thanks to the charity of Saint Martin, who offers his cloak to a man in need.
These two works have been brought into dialogue for their shared reflection on the primary function of clothing: to cover and protect us from the cold and the elements. By drawing attention to exposed and vulnerable bodies, they serve as a reminder of the fundamental human need for clothing — and the enduring importance of solidarity.
Model of an offering-bearer
Composite sculpture of said "princess"
Model of an offering-bearer
1st quarter 2nd millenium BC
Polychromous wood
36 x 12.4 x 5.5 cm
FGA-ARCH-EG-0198
© Photographic credit: Fondation Gandur pour l'Art, Geneva. Photographer: André Longchamp
Composite sculpture of said "princess"
Late 3rd millenium - early 2nd millenium BC
Chlorite and calcite
23 x 9.5 x 13 cm
FGA-ARCH-BA-0023
© Photographic credit: Fondation Gandur pour l'Art, Geneva. Photographer: André Longchamp
Links between these artworks
Dressed in a simple white robe, an Egyptian offering-bearer has extended the ladder to a millennia-old Central Asian princess adorned with a heavy, patterned textile. On square 41, reflect on clothing as a means of identification and belonging. Here, attire—whether through its simplicity or its intricacy—serves to delineate the roles of these two women within their respective societies.
Statuette of Aphrodite fastening her necklace
Her Majesty, Queen Sophie
Statuette of Aphrodite fastening her necklace
Mid-1st century CE
Hollow cast terracotta
36 x 14.5 x 6.9 cm
FGA-ARCH-RA-0198
© Photographic credit: Fondation Gandur pour l'Art, Geneva. Photographer: André Longchamp
Mary SIBANDE
Her Majesty, Queen Sophie
2010
Photography, pigmentary print
Edition of 10 + 3AP
Non-numbered artist proof
104 x 69 cm
FGA-ACAD-SIBAN-0001
© Mary Sibande
Links between these artworks
An ancient goddess, draped in a wet-look pleated robe, may have made you leap forward a few squares. If that’s the case, you’re likely standing on square 36, where the work of Mary Sibande reveals a domestic worker in majesty.
These two works have been brought together for their exploration of pleating, a technique used by artisans and artists alike to signify the refinement and quality of a garment —offering, in turn, insights into the person wearing it. The pleats of the garment that clung unmistakably to the body of the ancient goddess to highlight her eroticism are expanded in the work Her Majesty, Queen Sophie to evoke the opulence of a Victorian gown, the kind associated with royalty. Here, that grandeur is used to reveal the figure of the domestic worker — embodied by the artist herself through her alter ego, Sophie, the daughter, granddaughter, and great-granddaughter of women assigned to housework. The garment thus becomes a powerful symbol, used to address the power dynamics embedded in South Africa’s colonial and apartheid history.
Dwelling
From the culinary practices of Ancient Egypt to household maintenance, from the ceremonial salons of the Grand Siècle to post-war and contemporary interiors, the home offers a rich panorama of the elements and activities that define domestic life across the ages.
In this second chapter of ArtCase, a reimagined version of the game of snakes and ladders, the Fondation Gandur pour l’Art invites you to explore the art of inhabiting space in all its dimensions. Inviting reflection on the interplay between ornament and utility, display and intimacy, entertainment and the management of everyday life, the works brought together here evoke both the comforts of the home and the broader societal questions surrounding the division of roles. They offer insights—at times playfully—into the ways in which humans construct and lay claim to their surroundings, which, over the centuries, have become a mirror of their inhabitants.
Abstract of Fabienne Fravalo's introduction
Je passe, vous repasserez II
Premier jour de lessive
Ivan MESSAC
Je passe, vous repasserez II
June 1968
Chinese ink on paper
50.1 x 47.9 cm
FGA-BA-MESSI-0002
© Photographic credit: Fondation Gandur pour l’Art, Geneva. Photographer: André Morin © 2025, ProLitteris, Zurich
Jourdan TCHOFFO KUETE
Premier jour de lessive
2023
Acrylique sur toile
150.4 x 150.4 cm
FGA-ACAD-TCHOF-0004
© Jourdan Tchoffo Kuete © Photographic credit: Fondation Gandur pour l'Art, Geneva. Photographer: Lucas Olivet
Links between these artworks
Just as you were about to break free from household chores, you’ve found yourself back at day one of doing the laundry… How disheartening!
Will women’s emancipation from domestic chores be an eternal struggle? Fifty-five years after May ’68 and Ivan Messac’s mischievous India-ink drawing Je passe, vous repasserez (“I pass through, you’ll iron.”), Jourdan Tchoffo Kuete’s large canvas poses this question with irony. In a laundry room where oversized household appliances occupy spaces usually devoted to pieces of luxury furniture, a woman lowers her gaze toward an enormous heap of laundry spilling out of a basket. Through a vivid, almost acidic palette that creates a sense of timelessness, Premier jour de lessive (“First Day of Laundry”) subtly invites us to reconsider how these household practices have evolved since the postwar boom and the era of globalization.
Table à jeux multiples
Jeux de dame
Guillaume KEMP
Table with multiple games
3rd quarter 18th century
Structure in fir and oak; veneering in rosewood, stained maple (‘tobacco wood’), satinwood, green-stained hornbeam, kingwood, holly, amaranth, ebony, ivory, and green-stained ivory; gilt bronze; modern felt.
FGA-AD-MOBI-0063
Photographic credit: Fondation Gandur pour l’Art, Geneva. Photographer: Thierry Ollivier
Luzamba Musiri ZEMBA
Jeux de dame
2020
Oil on canvas
139.4 x 159 cm
FGA-ACAD-LUZAM-0006
© Luzamba Musiri Zemba © Photographic credit: Fondation Gandur pour l'Art, Geneva. Photographer: Lucas Olivet
Links between these artworks
Enough admiring — we’re waiting for you for a wild game of draughts!
In the 18th century, board games were one of the favourite pastimes of the European elite during social gatherings. To make this activity more enjoyable and to integrate it harmoniously into the elegant interiors of aristocrats and wealthy financiers, master cabinetmakers competed in ingenuity. The games table attributed to Guillaume Kemp, for instance, reveals a game of trictrac (a precursor to backgammon) beneath an upper lottery board, while a side flap conceals a set of six interchangeable trays fitted with double-sided engraved boards. Two and a half centuries later, the work of Luzamba Musiri Zemba affirms the enduring and universal appeal of draughts, whose origins can be traced back to Ancient Egypt with the game of senet.
Fleurs blanches et jaunes
Vase crowned with fruits
Nicolas de STAËL
Fleurs blanches et jaunes
1953
Oil on canvas
130 x 89 cm
FGA-BA-STAEL-0003
© Photographic credit: Fondation Gandur pour l’Art, Geneva. Photographer: Sandra Pointet © 2025, ProLitteris, Zurich
Giovanni DELLA ROBBIA, workshop of
Vase crowned with fruits
1st quarter 16th century
Enamel
37 x 26 x 24 cm
FGA-AD-OBJ-0073
© Photographic credit: Fondation Gandur pour l’Art, Geneva. Photographer: Thierry Ollivier
Links between these artworks
Oops! You let yourself be tempted by one bouquet too many… Time to indulge in even more extravagance!
Endowed with symbolic meaning linked to their olfactory properties, flowers have been associated since Antiquity with religious and funerary rituals, as well as with the decoration of homes. From the Renaissance onwards, a true floral art developed, intended to enhance the refinement of royal and aristocratic residences. Vases adorned with artificial flowers and fruits in faience, produced during the same period by the della Robbia workshop, offered a particularly luxurious and lasting equivalent. At the end of the 20th century, Fleurs blanches et jaunes by Nicolas de Staël once again evokes this now familiar decorative element: the bouquet.
Lamp decorated with heads of Minerva and dolphins
Pair of wall lights
Lamp decorated with heads of Minerva and dolphins
1st century CE
Bronze
21.7 x 26 x 26 cm
FGA-ARCH-RA-0205
© Photographiquc credit: Fondation Gandur pour l'Art, Geneva. Photographer: André Longchamp
Antoine LELIEVRE
Pair of wall lights
mid-18th century
Gilded bronze
63 x 42 x 19.3 cm
FGA-AD-OBJ-0006 a+b
© Photographic credit: Fondation Gandur pour l’Art, Geneva. Photographer: Thierry Ollivier
Links between these artworks
From the 1st century AD to the mid-18th century, you certainly came a long way — yet the sources of lighting hardly changed at all!
If the home serves as a place of refuge, especially at night, then lighting it adds to both its comfort and, indeed, its very livability. Until electricity appeared in the late 19th century, fire was the primary source of light. The design of objects to hold the glowing material sparked the creativity of artisans: lamps were often crafted as genuine works of art, adding charm to interiors even when unlit.
Travelling
Humankind has been travelling ever since curiosity and the urge to explore have set its feet in motion. As walking has its limits, travellers first harnessed the strength of animals before exploiting that of machines. From then on, they moved on horseback, by camel, in carriages, by boat, or by airplane, with each advance in transport technology reducing the time needed to traverse distances. Today, in the digital age, distance is no longer an obstacle to discovering the world, which can now be explored at the click of a button.
The third chapter of ArtCase presents artworks that evoke the long history of travel across time and space. They also reflect the contrasting stakes and motivations of travellers, driven by curiosity, the spirit of conquest, or the dream of a better life.
Abstract of Bertrand Dumas' introduction
Chest bearing the arms of the Prince of Condé
Pack camel
Chest bearing the arms of the Prince of Condé
Circa 1700
Spruce-wood frame, partially gilded leather, iron, and domino paper
30 x 60 x 30 cm
FGA-AD-OBJ-0095
© Photo credit: Fondation Gandur pour l’Art, Geneva. Photographer: Thierry Ollivier
Pack camel
VIIe - Xe siècle après J.-C.
Terre cuite polychrome
43.5 x 26.5 x 49.5 cm
FGA-ETH-AS-0017
© Photo credit: Fondation Gandur pour l'Art, Geneva. Photographer: Thierry Ollivier
Links between these artworks
If you’ve landed on square 186, you'll have realised by now: to travel well, one must first be properly equipped!
Among the objects produced to accompany travellers are chests, such as the leather-covered example bearing on its lid the arms of the House of Condé. The refinement of its gilded decoration, executed in the early eighteenth century, attests to the prestige of its patron. Once personal effects have been stowed away, attention must then be given to one’s mount, particularly when it is heavily laden, as illustrated by this terracotta pack camel from China’s Tang dynasty (678–907 CE). This type of figurine, placed in tombs, accompanied the deceased on their final journey into the afterlife, evoking the society that surrounded them during their lifetime. Camelids were then numerous around the markets of major Chinese cities from which the Silk Road departed, a commercial route linking Chang’an to Constantinople.
Exodus n° 1
Untitled
Karel APPEL
Exodus n° 1
1951
Oil, gouache, coloured pencil, and collage on kraft paper mounted on canvas
100.1 x 65.3 cm
FGA-BA-APPEL-0006
© Photo credit: Fondation Gandur pour l’Art, Geneva. Photographer: André Morin © 2025, ProLitteris, Zurich
ABOUDIA
Untitled
2017
Oil pastels and acrylic on canvas
122 x 183 cm
FGA-ACAD-ABOUD-0003
© Abdoulaye Diarrassouba © Photo credit: Fondation Gandur pour l’Art, Geneva. Photographer: Lucas Olivet © 2025, ProLitteris, Zurich
Links between these artworks
You have reached square 165: a moment to reflect on the issue of exile.
In a small wheeled cart are piled toys and stuffed animals. One can sense that these belongings were hastily gathered by a child, collecting what was most precious to them—much like the families who, fleeing the advance of the Third Reich’s troops, loaded their possessions onto carts and set out across Europe. This collage by Karel Appel, entitled Exodus, also bears the name of a famous ship that, in 1947, attempted to reach the future State of Israel carrying 450 survivors of the Jewish genocide. This poignant episode of postwar mass migration resonates with Aboudia’s painting, created in 2017, which depicts another boat carrying migrants. Among the inscriptions rendered in capital letters on the black background of his work are the names of countries and cities—destinations that the passengers, forced into exile, hope to reach.
Bureau de pente
Métasphère (II)
Jacques DUBOIS
Bureau de pente
Circa 1750 - 1760
Oak and spruce frame, fruitwood (alder) veneer with black varnish, Japanese lacquer, European varnish, gilded bronze, leather, and (modern) lacquer
88 x 117.3 x 52 cm
FGA-AD-MOBI-0013
© Photo credit: Fondation Gandur pour l’Art, Geneva. Photographer: Thierry Ollivier
Jean DEGOTTEX
Métasphère (II)
25 november 1965
Acrylic on canvas
214 x 129 cm
FGA-BA-DEGOT-0005
© Photo credit: Fondation Gandur pour l’Art, Geneva. Photographer: Sandra Pointet © 2025, ProLitteris, Zurich
Links between these artworks
Oh no, you’ve landed back on square 152… Time to delve even deeper into centuries of cultural exchange!
European artists’ interest in the Far East intensified in the eighteenth century with the opening of new trade routes. A testament to the encounter between Europe and Asia, the bureau de pente by the cabinetmaker Jean Dubois incorporates into its decoration earlier lacquer panels reused from cabinets or screens imported from China or Japan. Two centuries later, in 1965, the artist Jean Degottex likewise turned his gaze towards the Far East, this time drawn by the purity of Chinese calligraphy, which he discovered in Comments on Painting by the monk Shitao. The first chapter of this treatise, composed in the early eighteenth century, is entitled The Single Brushstroke. Jean Degottex appears to have drawn direct inspiration from it in executing the large vertical sign that runs through the painting Métasphère (II).
Saint James the Greater
Miki Liste
Saint James the Greater
Circa 1470 - 1500
Oak wood
140 x 41 x 30 cm
FGA-AD-BA-0014
© Photo credit: Fondation Gandur pour l’Art, Geneva. Photographer: Thierry Ollivier
Luzamba Musiri ZEMBA
Miki Liste
2019
Oil on canvas
130 x 89 cm
FGA-ACAD-LUZAM-0002
© Luzamba Musiri Zemba © Photo credit: Fondation Gandur pour l'Art, Geneva. Photographer: Lucas Olivet
Links between these artworks
You have set out on a pilgrimage under the protection of Saint James! Welcome to square 181.
Carved from a solid oak trunk in Flanders at the end of the fifteenth century, the figure of Saint James the Greater is identifiable by his attributes: the book marks him as an apostle, while the staff, satchel, and hat adorned with a scallop shell signify his role as the patron saint of pilgrims, venerated by Catholics at his tomb in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. From Galicia, Spain, Artcase transports us to the Congo, where we encounter an elegant urbanite whose attire and accessories identify him as a member of the Société des Ambianceurs et des Personnes Élégantes—better known by its acronym, S.A.P.E. His fuchsia tie with white crosshatch, paired with a pink shirt coordinated with the pocket square of his tailored jacket, marks him as a consummate dandy. Luzamba Musiri Zemba portrays him with his face concealed behind a visa, perhaps to suggest that the art of sape, as popular in Brazzaville as in Château Rouge, Paris, transcends borders.
Artworks in the game
Modèle de barque
4e quart IIIe millénaire avant J.-C. - 1er quart I
Modèle d’une porteuse d’offrandes
1er quart IIe millénaire avant J.-C.
Modèle de plat avec fruits: récipient circulaire
1er quart IIe millénaire après J.-C.
Modèle de boulanger
2e moitié IIIe millénaire avant J.-C.
Statuette composite dite de "princesse"
Fin IIIe millénaire - début IIe millénaire avant J
Paire d'appliques
Milieu XVIIIe siècle
Saint Jacques le Majeur
3e tiers XVe siècle
Mendiant assis
2e quart XVIIIe siècle
Miroir
Fin XVIIe - début XVIIIe siècle
Ève
1ère moitié XVIe siècle
Vase couronné de fruits
1er quart XVIe siècle
Bureau de pente
Milieu XVIIIe siècle
Table à jeux multiples
3e quart XVIIIe siècle
Métasphère (II)
25 novembre 1965
Nu dans la fenêtre
1965
Fleurs blanches et jaunes
1953
[Nature morte puriste à la carafe et au pichet bleu]
1923
Chameau bâté
VIIe - Xe siècle après J.-C.
Artistic Foot(wear) [Pied(chaussure) artistique]
1966
Statuette d'Aphrodite attachant son collier dite "Aphrodite Mutiaux"
Milieu Ier siècle après J.-C.
Exodus n° 1
1951
King's Beer (Küchenbild) [King’s Beer (Tableau de la cuisine)]
1968
Sans titre
2011
Lampe de suspension à décor de têtes de Minerve et dauphins
Ier siècle après J.-C.
Pagaie de danse Korwar
Fin XIXe siècle après J.-C.
Sans titre
2017
Parmi les peintres
1975
Char miniature conduit par un homme et tiré par deux équidés
Xe siècle avant J.-C.
Departure DC-8 III
1969
Coffre aux armes du Prince de Condé
Fin XVIIe siècle - début XVIIIe siècle (vers 1700)
Camion
Septembre 1970
Variations on a Meal by Noma Copley
1964
Je n'y serai jamais à 2 heures
Octobre 1974
Idole féminine de type "Pappadès"
Milieu VIe siècle avant J.-C.
Je passe, vous repasserez II
Juin 1968
Miki Liste
2019
Her Majesty, Queen Sophie
2010
Sapologie
2019
Sape Jockey
2018
Conversation perroquets
Vers 1966-1967
Charité de saint Martin
1er quart XVIe siècle
Jeux de dame
2020
Self-portrait looking out of the window, Paraty
2005
Alo Wala in Black
2015
Thanksgiving Dinning
2021
Il mimo [Le Mime]
Novembre 1969
Premier jour de lessive
2023
Interno americano [Intérieur américain]
Mars 1971
