Dessins, disegni

An in-depth study of Peter Märkli’s work through a vast corpus of 700 drawings by the Swiss architect, with eight essays by authors associated with Märkli.

Peter Märkli’s “drawn” work can be studied independently of his built work. Occasionally, these drawings can be found in his completed works, but in general, they tend to be projects or, more precisely, potential project themes. For Märkli, drawing is a sensitive processing of stimuli and suggestions, a personal appropriation of experience. His drawings sometimes show signs of erasure and hesitation. They are legible in superimposed layers, allowing multiple levels of reading, in thickness and depth: they are clearly a search for answers. Ideas are expressed in variations: color, proportions, hierarchies, order, solids and voids, movement. The drawn sheet is thus the place where the idea is not “simply” represented or described, but rather this tortuous path where it is born, developed and clarified.

After Peter Märkli. À la recherche d’un langage, published in 2019 by Cosa Mentale, Caryatide once again offers an in-depth study of Peter Märkli’s work. The book Peter Märkli. Dessins, disegni is presented as a reissue (French-Italian edition), expanded and updated with previously unpublished plates, of the original work published by Quart Verlag in 2015 (Anglo-German edition). The book is made up of a selection from the corpus of 700 drawings collected over the years by Peter Märkli himself. The drawings are accompanied by eight essays written by authors associated with Peter Märkli.