In 1992, Peter Kilchmann opened his first gallery space at an abandoned factory site in the Western district of Zurich. He was part of a group of young gallerists who ventured out into what was at the time a gritty part of the city. It was an unconventional and revitalizing move for the local art community, driven by a pioneering spirit and the curiosity of a small collective of visionaries who loosely collaborated with each other.
Peter Kilchmann’s initial programmatic focus was on media that was generally not shown in commercial galleries such as photography and video art. Over the course of the following years, while still operating out of a limited space, he meticulously shaped the gallery’s program and increasingly opened it up to include drawing, painting, and sculpture. In 1996, the gallery moved into the then recently redeveloped Löwenbräu industrial area. Peter Kilchmann was one of the initiators of the young gallery community there. This step marked an essential increase in the size of his gallery and the range of possibilities for his activities. The same year, he co-initiated Liste, the first satellite fair to Art Basel. Liste art fair is still an important fixture for newcomer galleries alongside the long-running established Basel fair.
From 1996 to 2010, the gallery grew into an internationally operating enterprise, including the representation of artists from the US and various European and Latin-American countries. Galerie Peter Kilchmann progressively earned a reputation to feature exhibitions by artists who challenge the established narrative and allowed critical, non-Western perspectives.
In 2011, with the move to Zahnradstrasse 21 in the Maag area in Zurich West, the gallery yet again increased its size and capacity. In 2021, Peter Kilchmann opened a second branch at Rämistrasse 33 in the center of the city and in vicinity to the Kunsthaus Zürich. The opening of a gallery space in the Marais district in Paris in October 2022 marks the most recent chapter in the gallery’s ongoing expansion.
During each of these landmark achievements, Peter Kilchmann and his team have been driven by a genuine curiosity and enthusiasm in their support for a diverse selection of artists. The common thread among them is a conceptual approach to a wide variety of creative processes and to compelling socio-political statements. In this tradition, Galerie Peter Kilchmann continues to offer a platform for artists and viewers to engage in open dialogues that challenge traditional perspectives.
