Außenansicht des Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein mit dunkler Fassade, Bäumen und Straße im Vordergrund.

The Museum

About us History Architecture The Board of Trustees Friends of Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein Foundation Cooperations and partners Team

Our mission is to engage with you

Artworks from modernism to the present. Ever-changing dialogues with them. Alternating formats. Their underlying stories. All waiting for you to engage with them – in a museum with iconic architecture. Rather surprisingly, in Vaduz – or perhaps, rather fittingly.

Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein is the state museum of modern and contemporary art. An open venue for encounter and interaction, interdisciplinarity, diversity, sustainability and inclusion. Between two sculptures, on the stairs, or over a cup of coffee.

The museum sees itself as a mediator, its key mission being to bring the audience into contact with art: our art education offerings invite children and families, schools and adults to participate.

Mission statement

Eine DJane legt mit Plattenspielern Musik bei einer Veranstaltung auf.

Gäste im hellen Museums-Café mit Büchertischen im Vordergrund.

Zwei Frauen von hinten betrachten eine moderne Medien-Installation im Museum.

Ein kleines Mädchen balanciert über eine Spiellandschaft aus Kissen.

Eine Gruppe von Menschen betraut eine Ausstellung mit leuchtenden Neonröhren.

Eine Frau kniet im Museum und fotografiert ein buntes Kunstwerk auf dem Boden.

Person mit auffälligem orangefarbenem Kostüm steht während einer Vernissage hinter einer Glastür.

Besucherin fotografiert kleine Ausstellungsstücke an einer schwarzen Wand.

History

Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein – a gift to mark the new millennium

In 1967, the State of Liechtenstein was gifted with ten paintings, which formed the foundation for the Liechtenstein State Art Collection the following year. The first curator of the collection was Georg Malin, an artist, art historian and politician from Liechtenstein. Early on, he placed the main emphasis of the collection on international modern and contemporary art.

Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein owes its existence to a group of private donors. Together with the government of the Principality of Liechtenstein and the Municipality of Vaduz, they paved the way for the modern museum building. A gift to mark the new millennium, the building was given to the Principality of Liechtenstein in August 2000, and the Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein Foundation was established to operate and manage the museum. The museum was officially opened on 11 November 2000, with Friedemann Malsch as founding director. Letizia Ragaglia took over as director in July 2021, handing over to Christiane Meyer-Stoll in January 2026.

Since its inception, Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein has geared its collecting, research and exhibiting activities to the goal of opening up fresh perspectives, focusing on current issues facing society and encouraging dialogue. Performative and processual elements play a key role in this respect.

Architecture

Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein is situated at the heart of Vaduz’s pedestrian zone, the administrative centre of Liechtenstein, alongside the Rhine and the border to Switzerland. It was designed by the renowned architects Meinrad Morger & Heinrich Degelo with Christian Kerez.

A particularly impressive feature of the dark cuboid is its façade, made of cement tinted with carbon black and iron oxide, black basalt and embedded river pebbles, a material that echoes the landscape of the Rhine Valley and introduces subtle colour accents. Crafted by an elaborate polishing process, the result is a gently reflective, slightly wavy surface that creates an attractive look and feel and gives the ‘black box’ its characteristic effect.

The distinctive building is 60 metres long, just under 25 metres wide and 12 metres high, with an exhibition area of 1,750 square metres.

‘The brief was to develop a museum for Vaduz that integrates with the urban fabric while standing out from the surrounding buildings thanks to its monolithic volume, façade design and materialisation.’ – Morger Partner Architects

Inside, the black box is a clearly structured white cube. Six exhibition rooms are arranged around two ‘switchback’ staircases: four Skylight Galleries on the upper floor and the Side-Light and Artificial-Light Galleries on the ground floor. With its wide glass façade, the Side-Light Gallery is the only space open to the outside. Home to the kollabor art+space for small children since 2023, it is also used for various projects, deeper engagement and shared experience.

Out of sight of visitors, the luminous ceiling conceals a two-metre-high space that is a central element of the functional architecture. The high-tech glass ceiling was converted to sustainable LED technology in 2021.

The Hilti Art Foundation building has been our neighbour since 2015. This private collection from Liechtenstein includes important works of classical modernism and contemporary art. Designed by Morger + Dettli, Basel, the cubic structure of polished white concrete pairs with the Kunstmuseum to form a distinctive ensemble. The buildings are physically linked: a staircase runs from the entrance and ticket desk straight up to the first exhibition level of the Hilti Art Foundation.

Hilti Art Foundation

Innenansicht eines Raumes mit Weißen Wänden und hellem Holzboden

Leerer Raum mit weißen Wänden, hellem Holzboden und Fenstern

Kunstmuseum Lichtenstein und Hilti Art Foundation Gebäude Außenansicht

Außenansicht Kunstmuseum und Hilti Art Foundation

Kunsmuseum und Hilti Art Foundation Gebäude Seitenansicht

Außenansicht von Kunstmuseum und Hilti Art Foundation

Außenansicht des Kunstmuseums Liechtenstein

The Board of Trustees

Design meets responsibility

The Board of Trustees is responsible for overseeing the management of the Kunstmuseum and sets out its strategic direction. It enacts the statutes, defines the collecting policy in consultation with the management team and determines which exhibitions are mounted. On behalf of the government, it elects the director and approves the annual budget, yearly accounts and annual report.

The Board of Trustees consists of seven members, each appointed by the government for a four-year term. The President of the Board of Trustees is chosen by the government.

Members of the Board of Trustees for the 2023–2026 and 2025–2028 terms

Dr Marion Matt, President
Thomas Büchel, Vice-President
Märten Geiger
Rita Kieber-Beck
Ernst Risch
Flurina Seger
Caroline Voigt

The Acquisition Committee consists of internationally acknowledged art experts and is chaired by the Kunstmuseum’s director. The Committee is appointed by the Board of Trustees for four years. In particular, it is responsible for purchasing artworks, making recommendations to the Board of Trustees regarding replacing and buying artworks, and managing loans and donations.

Members of the Acquisition Committee for the 2024–2027 and 2025–2028 terms

Christina Lehnert, Baden-Baden, Germany
Dr Gerhard Mack, Abtwil, Switzerland
Dr Silvia Eiblmayr, Vienna

The International Advisory Board is made up of three internationally acknowledged art and museum experts. It is appointed by the Board of Trustees, usually for a term of four years.

Tasks of the International Advisory Board

Advises the Board of Trustees and the Director on all specialised and strategic matters
Represents Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein externally
Collaborates on enlarging the museum’s international network
Participates in expanding the collection through loans or donations and acquiring international grants and sponsors

Members of the International Advisory Board for the 2025–2028 term

Linda Schädler, Head, Collection of Prints and Drawings, ETH, Zurich
Bettina Leidl, Director of MuseumsQuartier Wien, Vienna
Achim Hochdörfer, Director of Museum Brandhorst, Munich

Friends of Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein Foundation

Promoting art. Experiencing art

The ‘Friends of Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein Foundation’ was established in 2006 to support the acquisition activities of Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein. Its members include private individuals and companies who serve as important ambassadors for the museum and whose financial commitment enables the purchase of significant works for the collection.

Members of the Friends Circle enjoy exclusive previews of upcoming exhibitions in a small and intimate setting, participate in Views (guided discussions and reflections on selected artworks), explore the museum behind the scenes, engage in conversations with the museum’s director, and take part in exclusive art-focused journeys. These activities also provide opportunities for inspiring exchanges among like-minded art enthusiasts.

Contact

Johann Wucherer

+423 235 03 00
mail@kunstmuseum.li

Cooperations and partners

A regional and international network

In collaboration with committed partners, institutions and cultural facilities, Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein delivers a range of innovative projects and fascinating programmes. The special location in the Lake Constance region, within easy reach of Switzerland, Austria and Germany, is the ideal base for cross-border cooperations and collaborations that offer an extraordinary experience of art, inspiring people to engage with contemporary art and enhancing the museum’s reputation.

Cloud Castle
Four institutions – a vast canvas for new ideas

Cloud Castle is an innovative platform at an imaginary location. This floating ‘castle in the air’ symbolises the idea of a process-based, immaterial space that allows people to experience art in its most ephemeral and, at the same time, most uncompromising form.

A dynamic testing ground, Cloud Castle harnesses the combined potential of four institutions: Kunsthaus Bregenz, Austria; Bündner Kunstmuseum Chur and Kunstmuseum St. Gallen, Switzerland; Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, opening up a space for dialogue and joint projects revolving around contemporary art.

The Cloud Castle podcast is available on all major platforms.

Cloud Castle