Read, watch and play

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]

FROM UMBERTO MARIANI'S GLOVES TO A SILHOUETTE BY ALLEN JONES

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

FROM A BEGGAR IN TORN CLOTHES TO 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"

FROM A MUTED WHITE DRESS TO A HEAVY CLOTH WITH MOTIFS

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

FROM AN ANTIQUE GODDESS TO A WORK OF MARY SIBANDE

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.

Table à jeux multiples

Jeux de dame

PLAYING TRIC TRAC AT HOME: A POPULAR PAST-TIME IN THE 18TH CENTURY AND TODAY

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

FROM A STILL LIFE TO AN ENAMEL VASE : FLORAL ART AND DECORATIONS

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

FROM A ROMAN SUSPENDED LAMP TO AN 18TH CENTURY 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.