HANS H. KUNZ - HHK
*1944, † 2015, postermaker, gallerist
Having returned from the hippie summer of ‘67 in San Francisco to the Swiss winter, Hans H. Kunz and a fellow graduate opened Switzerland’s first poster shop, in 1968. The walls were covered top to bottom with psychedelic posters imported from the US and the UK. One day a car stopped in front of the shop and a good-looking and friendly man with a cardboard roll under one arm walked into the shop. He said that he liked the posters very much, produced several black-and-white prints from his roll, and asked almost shyly if they would perhaps also sell these.
This was the historical moment of HHK’s first meeting with Hansruedi Giger. He was at once fascinated by the latter’s character and his world of images. When he subsequently opened a publishing house, Wizard & Genius, he signed his first ever reproduction agreement with Giger. This was the beginning of their friendly relations that were to last for decades.
In spring 2014, Giger and Kunz were still planning a joyful and nostalgic meeting at Kunst Hof 5 together with Walter Wegmüller and Claude Sandoz, with whom Giger collectively created the monumental “Tagtraum” or Daydream murals. Fate, however, tragically intervened. The two artist-friends dedicated the exhibition, this “Homage à HR Giger”, to him and to his memory.