
2023
Glass, aluminum, plastic, reused steel tubes, collected glass vessels, lost things found somewhere in the gaps of the pavement, a tiny shell, flint stone, parts of a heating system from an abandoned nursery, found devices, LED tube, electrical wire
Dimensions variable

2023
Detail

2023
Detail

lucid strolls, 2023

lucid strolls, 2023

2022
Steel, agate, findings, magnets, chains, snap hook; in collab. with Aline Battegay
19 × 25 cm

2023
Graphite on paper, magnets, metal box, glass
37 × 45 cm

2022
Graphite on paper, magnets, metal box, glass
36,5 × 45 cm

lucid strolls second rumination, Saint-Martin Bookshop, Brussels, 2023

lucid strolls second rumination, Saint-Martin Bookshop, Brussels, 2023

lucid strolls second rumination, Saint-Martin Bookshop, Brussels, 2023

Glass, neon, found stuff, magnets
Dimensions variable

Detail

2022
Glass, metal, found stuff, wheels
Dimensions variable

2023
Glass, aluminum, plastic, reused steel tubes, collected glass vessels, lost things found somewhere in the gaps of the pavement, a tiny shell, flint stone, replica of an ancient figurine (toy?), parts of a heating system from an abandoned nursery, a small square stone (from an ancient Roman site), found devices, LED tube, electrical wire
Variable dimensions

Bad Posture, Lausanne, 2023
Photo: Thea Giglio

Bad Posture, Lausanne, 2023
Photo: Thea Giglio

Installation view
Bad Posture, Lausanne, 2023
Photo: Thea Giglio

Detail, installation view
Bad Posture, Lausanne, 2023
Photo: Thea Giglio

Detail, installation view
Bad Posture, Lausanne, 2023
Photo: Thea Giglio

Look A Long
Projekt Links, Bern, 2022

Look A Long
Projekt Links, Bern, 2022

2022
Graphite on paper, magnets, findings, glass and steel marbles, found metal box, glass
45 × 59 cm

2022
Steel, glass, agate, findings, magnets, chains, snap hook
In collaboration with Aline Battegay
29 × 14 cm

2022
Aluminum, electronic scrap, LED, cable, magnets, found objects, glass, concrete
Approx. 60 × 60 × 50 cm

Floor is Lava, Kunstmuseum Luzern, 2022, Lucerne, CH
Photo: Marc Latzel

Floor is Lava, Kunstmuseum Luzern, 2022, Lucerne, CH
Photo: Marc Latzel

Floor is Lava, Kunstmuseum Luzern, 2022, Lucerne, CH
Photo: Marc Latzel

2021
Wood, aluminum, metal rings, wooden beads
20 × 25 cm

2021–2022
Graphite on paper
29,7 × 42 cm

2021–2022
Graphite on paper
29,7 × 42 cm

2021–2022
Graphite on paper
29,7 × 42 cm

2021
Aluminum, glass, LED, cable, steel cables, adapter, soapstone
80 × 80 cm
Installation view

2021
Aluminum, glass, LED, cable, concrete adapter
30 × 60 cm
Installation view
Photo: Benedikt Bock

in collaboration with Rebecca Kunz
2020
Clay, waste glass, electronic scrap, cable, variable size
Installation view
Photo: Michael Baser

Detail
Photo: Michael Baser

2021
Wood, glass, concrete, acrylic paint, found objects, round bakelite handles, rubber balls
57 × 103 cm

2020
Paper, found magnets, misappropriated tin
189 × 131 cm
Installation view
Photo: Martin Stollenwerk

2019
Collected glass, steel, steel cable, silicone, steel balls, variable size
Installation view
Photo: Anja Wille

2017
Engraved glass
Diameter 110 cm
Mathis Pfäffli is a Swiss artist living in Zurich. His work meanders between drawing, object, installation. A told story can play a role, often you have to imagine the narratives yourself. The boundaries of the works are sometimes not easy to recognize, much frays at the edges and mixes with the existing.
Education
- MA, Fine Arts Institut Kunst, Basel, 2017
- Illustration, HAW, Hamburg, 2008–2009
- BA Graphic Design, HSLU, Lucerne, 2008
Solo & duo exhibitions
- Lucid Strolls: Second Rumination, solo exhibition, Saint-Martin Bookshop, Brussels, 2023
- Lucid Strolls, Damien & The Love Guru, Brussels, 2023
- Look A Long, Projekt Links, Bern, 2022
- Canopy Launch Pad, with Jan van Oordt, MAT art space, Neuchâtel, 2022
- Floor is Lava, Kunstmuseum Luzern, Lucerne, 2022
- Tooth Gap, Vera Wessels, Zurich, 2020
- Only Openings and Ways Trough, La Dépendance, St. Imier, 2020
- Palympsest Dust, with Rebecca Kunz, Ausstellungsraum Klingental, Basel, 2020
- Open House, GGG Atelierhaus, Basel, 2018
- Nebelmeer, Schwarzwaldallee, Basel, 2017
- U, with Manuel Schneider, Oslo10, Basel, 2016
- Menhir, Bazzar Compatible Program, Shanghai, 2015
- Adapt Reflect Mirror, M35, Lucerne, 2014
- Von Jetzt An Ist Alles Neu, Südpol, Lucerne, 2014
- Barteronbarteronbarter, travel project with Nadine Gerber, Bern–Athens, 2013
- Out Of Sight Chicago, performance with Nadine Gerber, Chicago, 2012
- Cave, with Nadine Gerber, N Damen Ave, Chicago, 2012
Selected group exhibitions
- Untitled, Suprainfinit Gallery, Bucharest, 2024
- Mulberries and Elderflower, Pharmakon Gallery, Bucharest, 2024
- Poetry for Revolutions, Istituto Svizzero, Rome, 2023
- Bad Posture, Lausanne, 2023
- Stiff Neck, Giulietta, Basel, 2021
- Indice Ultraviolet: Décalage vers le rouge, part of Jan van Oordts installation, CAN, Neuchâtel, 2021
- Beauty is Everywhere, Museum im Bellpark, Kriens, 2020
- In the Tall Grass, Feldbach, 2019
- Etwas von Wir, lecture performance, Tatort, Lucerne, 2019
- Alles was da glänzt, gelbes Haus, Lucerne, 2019
- Open House, GGG Atelierhaus, Basel, 2018
- Crib II, Galerie95, Biel, 2017
- We Invite You To Hope, Kunsthaus Baselland, Basel, 2017
- C’est fini l’ironie, Carrosserie, Basel, 2016
- Werkbeiträge Kanton Luzern, AKKU, Emmenbrücke, Lucerne, 2015
- If The Situation Leads To An Unknown Question Leave Footsteps Behind, Up-State, Zurich, 2015
- Werkschau Chicago, with Nadine Gerber, Kunsthalle Luzern, Lucerne, 2013
Stipends and awards
- Visarte Luzern Atelier Paris, 2024
- Landis & Gyr Residency Bukarest, 2024
- Swiss Art Awards, nomination, Basel, 2023
- Junge Kunst, publication stipend, city of Lucerne, 2020
- Research stipend, canton of Lucerne, 2017
- Work stipend, canton of Lucerne, 2015
- Travel stipend, Stiftung Otto Pfeifer, Lucerne, 2013
- Artist residency, city of Lucerne, Chicago, 2012
TEACHING
- ETH Zürich, Workshop & Mentoring at Studio Alexandre Theriot, 2024
- MMA Mendrisio, Workshop & Mentoring at Studio Stéphanie Bru, 2024
- HFG Offenbach, After School Club, 2014
- INTEGRATED, Antwerpen, 2013
- Stadtschulen Zug, 2019
- TRACER, published with Spector Books, Leipzig, 2022
- PREMISES, with Jan van Oordt and Sadie Plant, self-published, 2022
- ‘Doing Things with Words: “Poetry for Revolutions: A Group Show with Manifestos and Proposals” at Istituto Svizzero, Rome’, review, Mousse Magazine, 2023
- Poetry for Revolutions, Contemporary Art Library, 2023
- ‘Your Guide to Brussels Gallery Weekend,’ Critic's Guides, Frieze Magazine, 2023
- lucid strolls, Contemporary Art Library, 2023
- Floor is Lava, Mousse Magazine, 2022
- Floor is Lava, KUBAPARIS, 2022
- Indice Ultraviolet: Décalage vers le rouge at CAN Centre d’Art Neuchâtel, Art Viewer, 2021
- We invite you to hope at Kunsthaus Baselland, Art Viewer, 2017
- itsnicethat.com, 2015
