In 1990, on the occasion of his 50th birthday, HR Giger was invited to mount a major retrospective of his work at the Château de Gruyères. The exhibition, ‘Alien dans ses meubles’, was a huge success and was attended by 110,000 visitors. After many visits to the medieval village of Gruyères, HR Giger fell in love with this wondrous region. Germain, was up for sale, the idea to establish his own mu
seum and a Center of Fantastic Art was born: on September 11, 1997, he acquired the Château. With the help of the architect Roger Cottier, the former museum director Barbara Gawrysiak and the invaluable support of the many co-workers, the museum opened (most of its) doors on June 21, 1998. As the permanent home to many of Giger's key works, the museum houses the largest and most impressive collection of the artist's paintings and sculptures, furniture and film designs, dating from the early 1960's till the present day. On permanent display at the museum in addition to such seminal works as ‘The Spell’ and the ‘Passages’ series, the museum houses, intact, most of Giger’s film designs, including the artwork of ‘Alien’ and ‘Alien 3’, ‘Dune’, ‘Species’, ‘Poltergeist 2’ and ‘The Mystery of San Gottardo’. The museum's top floor houses a permanent display of Giger's own private art collection and the Museum Gallery where curated one-man exhibitions on the work of other artists. Adjacent to the museum is the HR Giger Bar, a work of art, an original and completely unique experience. The ceiling, walls, floors, fittings, tables and chairs are all modeled by the artist in the style of his acclaimed ‘Alien’ biomechanical environment and character designs. Giger Bar is the ultimate in immersive art. The experience is incredible, inviting and inspiring and the perfect place to wrap up a day at the Museum HR Giger and your visit to Gruyères.
