Haute couture
Fontana was born in Versoix, Canton of Geneva. Her father was the painter Alois Fontana. Shortly after her birth the family moved to Zürich. From 1943 to 1946, Annemie Fontana was an apprentice in an Haute couture atelier and finished her training as a tailor. Afterwards she trained as a ceramist at "Gebrüder Müller" in Lucerne. In 1950 she established her first studio in the "Alte Mühle" (Old Mill) at Mühlebachstrasse, Zürich. In 1954 she displayed her first sculptures. In 1960 she gave up her profession as a tailor and became a full-time artist. Since 1969, she lived and worked in Zumikon where Max Bill also lived and with whom she was friends. Fontana won several competitions for works in public spaces. Her works were displayed at solo as well as at group exhibitions mainly in the Zürich area, and also elsewhere in Switzerland. She also took part in international group exhibitions: Florence (1967), The Hague (1968), Tel Aviv (1972), Haifa, Jerusalem, Budapest, Antwerp (1973), Lindau (1977) and again Budapest (1978). Annemie Fontana died on 25 October 2002 in Zürich.