Margrit Gisclon @ open space

A large proportion of the works on display were created in a ‘safe space’. This form of art therapy is based on Arno Stern’s theory: painting takes place free from external influences, without outside comments or judgements.

The exhibition can be seen during the regular opening hours of the open art museum, St.Gallen in the open space in the foyer. Admission to the exhibition is free.

“Dear visitors to the open art museum, dear family, friends and acquaintances

Back in the 1980s, Margrit and I used to visit here on Davidstrasse regularly – at the Museum im Lagerhaus, as it was called back then. We were fascinated by the so-called naïve works. When I heard about the exhibition ‘A Dream of a Ball Gown’ (28 August 2025 to 22 February 2026) at the open art museum and realised that these were works from the art collection of the University Psychiatric Clinics Basel, it prompted me to display some of my late wife Margrit’s paintings in the foyer. For after stays at the Herisau Psychiatric Hospital – where she also painted – and her suicide in 2011, Margrit left me around 100 paintings that I had never seen before. I have treasured them ever since as a private treasure!

Why? Even from a young age, I experienced and appreciated Margrit’s creative side – she constantly surprised me with daring colour combinations in her interior design or craft projects. When she was modelling, I noticed that the theatre figures she created had a powerful expressiveness; they were skilfully modelled and painted. I also witnessed these skills during her career as a nursery school teacher. What was also consistently impressive was her gift for reading faces and remembering them. For example, she could match children to their parents before she had even met the children. Or she would recognise the parents 30 years later during chance encounters and could identify them without hesitation…

I put together the pictures hanging in the foyer intuitively – whether they are strikingly or chaotically painted, it is of course difficult to discern any indication of their mental state, and I leave that to the viewers to decide.

Georges Gisclon»

“Dear visitors to the open art museum, dear family, friends and acquaintances

If you’ve stopped by the open space (foyer) at the open art museum, I’m delighted. If you have any questions or would simply like to have a chat with me about anything and everything, I’ll be there from time to time over the next few weeks – on the following days, from 3 pm until closing time:

April: 30 April
May: 1 May, 2 May, 5 May, 9 May, 22 May, 23 May, 28 May, 30 May
June: 5 June, 7 June

You are also welcome to contact me by email:
georgesdidi@icloud.com

Thank you very much for your interest!

Georges Gisclon»

Margrit Bertschinger was born in Wädenswil, Zurich, in 1949. She grew up there with an older sister and a younger brother. She contracted polio as an infant; later, she also began to suffer from epileptic seizures. Her childhood was therefore marked by a long period of therapy and treatment. Nevertheless, she remained a cheerful and optimistic person.

She attended school in Wädenswil, followed by a girls’ school in Zurich and a nursery teacher training college, from which she graduated in 1970. During this time, she developed a particular fondness for the arts. She played various recorders with great enthusiasm, including the C, alto and bass recorders.

In the spring of 1970, she met Georges Gisclon, who would later become her husband. The wedding took place in Lenzburg in 1972. From 1972 to 1976, Margrit Gisclon worked as a nursery school teacher in Hendschiken, Aargau. The couple then moved to Herisau in eastern Switzerland, where she worked as a nursery school teacher again from 1976 to 1980. Her two sons were born in 1980 and 1982. She also worked part-time at the Herisau Music School.

In 1983, Margrit Gisclon developed severe depression. During the course of her assessment, a family history of the condition also came to light. A six-week stay at Herisau Clinic brought only temporary relief; a further stay in 1984 took a heavy toll on her, not least because of the medication, which she found difficult to tolerate and which caused significant side effects. She expressed a wish never to be admitted to a psychiatric clinic again. Despite everything, she repeatedly tried to remain active – she painted, modelled and sang in the Gaiserwald church choir. However, her condition deteriorated over the years. She also suffered from obsessive thoughts that severely disrupted her daily life, to the extent that even reading a book was barely possible for her. After years of recurring suicidal thoughts, she took her own life in July 2011.