Muses

History of the work

In the courtyard of the Unitobler at Muesmattstrasse 45 stand seven ceramic figures on pedestals. They belong to “Musen” (Muses) by Elisabeth Langsch, a design for the square dating from 1991 to 1993. According to the artist's catalogue of works, each figure is about three metres high, hand-formed and glazed. They come with about 170 square metres of prefabricated, blue-glazed ceramic tiles.

The work came out of a competition commissioned by the Canton of Bern for the conversion of the former Tobler chocolate factory, which passed to the university as Unitobler in 1993. The catalogue names the Unitobler architects' partnership of Pierre Clémençon, Daniel Herren and Andrea Roost, with project manager Gody Hofmann. The installation was restored in 2024.

Elisabeth Langsch (1933–2025) was born in Zollikon and grew up in Königsberg. She trained at the ceramics school in Bern and then worked in the studio of the architectural ceramicist Georges Jouve in Aix-en-Provence and in Faenza. From 1958 she had her own workshop, in later years in Zurich. That same year a ceramic wall of hers won an award at SAFFA, the national exhibition of women's work, then held for the second time. According to the Stiftung Buchkunst, she trained as a ceramic painter because women were not allowed to work at the potter's wheel at the time. From then on she carried out many commissions for walls and sculptures in public space, for instance a 45-metre yellow wall at the Bläsi school in Zurich in 1980. Works by her are held by the Museum für Gestaltung in Zurich and the Musée Ariana in Geneva.

In 2025 Edition Hochparterre published the first monograph with a complete catalogue of her work, “Unmittelbar, dringend, ungeduldig”; the Stiftung Buchkunst honoured its design. Walking through the courtyard, you can count the seven figures; the blue-glazed tiles are part of the work too.

Researched and summarised by Bärn Kit. Sources: Kultur Stadt Bern, Kunst im öffentlichen Raum (offene Daten) · Elisabeth Langsch: Werkverzeichnis (PDF) · Elisabeth Langsch: Baukeramik · Wikipedia (de): Elisabeth Langsch · Universität Bern, Historisches Institut: About us (Unitobler) · Stiftung Buchkunst: Unmittelbar, dringend, ungeduldig