Damien & The Love Guru

Temporary Relations (Zollikerstrasse 249)
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
Installation view
Bad Posture, Lausanne, 2023
Photo: Thea Giglio
Installation view
Bad Posture, Lausanne, 2023
Photo: Thea Giglio
Collector 2
Installation view
Bad Posture, Lausanne, 2023
Photo: Thea Giglio
Collector 6
Detail, installation view
Bad Posture, Lausanne, 2023
Photo: Thea Giglio
Collector 6
Detail, installation view
Bad Posture, Lausanne, 2023
Photo: Thea Giglio
Installation view
Look A Long
Projekt Links, Bern, 2022
Installation view
Look A Long
Projekt Links, Bern, 2022
Remains and Myths
2022
Graphite on paper, magnets, findings, glass and steel marbles, found metal box, glass
45 × 59 cm
Glasses
2022
Steel, glass, agate, findings, magnets, chains, snap hook
In collaboration with Aline Battegay
29 × 14 cm
Europaplatz 1
2022
Aluminum, electronic scrap, LED, cable, magnets, found objects, glass, concrete
Approx. 60 × 60 × 50 cm
Installation view spot on Mathis Pfäffli
Floor is Lava, Kunstmuseum Luzern, 2022, Lucerne, CH
Photo: Marc Latzel
Installation view spot on Mathis Pfäffli
Floor is Lava, Kunstmuseum Luzern, 2022, Lucerne, CH
Photo: Marc Latzel
Installation view spot on Mathis Pfäffli
Floor is Lava, Kunstmuseum Luzern, 2022, Lucerne, CH
Photo: Marc Latzel
Switchboard I
2021
Wood, aluminum, metal rings, wooden beads
20 × 25 cm
Excerpt from Tracer, drawing series
2021–2022
Graphite on paper
29,7 × 42 cm
Excerpt from Tracer, drawing series
2021–2022
Graphite on paper
29,7 × 42 cm
Excerpt from Tracer, drawing series
2021–2022
Graphite on paper
29,7 × 42 cm
The Kids Call It Ghosthouse
2021
Aluminum, glass, LED, cable, steel cables, adapter, soapstone
80 × 80 cm
Installation view
Hausgeist
2021
Aluminum, glass, LED, cable, concrete adapter
30 × 60 cm
Installation view
Photo: Benedikt Bock
Palympsest Dust
in collaboration with Rebecca Kunz
2020
Clay, waste glass, electronic scrap, cable, variable size
Installation view
Photo: Michael Baser
Palympsest Dust
Detail
Photo: Michael Baser
Switchboard
2021
Wood, glass, concrete, acrylic paint, found objects, round bakelite handles, rubber balls
57 × 103 cm
All Beings in Serenity (s21e4)
2020
Paper, found magnets, misappropriated tin
189 × 131 cm
Installation view
Photo: Martin Stollenwerk
What You Felt Was Not What I Felt, Thoughts in Symmetry
2019
Collected glass, steel, steel cable, silicone, steel balls, variable size
Installation view
Photo: Anja Wille
Lens I of II
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

  • Poetry for Revolutions. A Group Show with Manifestos and Proposals, Cabaret Voltaire, Zurich, 2023
  • Poetry for Revolutions. A Group Show with Manifestos and Proposals, Istituto Svizzero, Rome, 2023
  • lucid strolls, Damien & The Love Guru, Brussels, 2023
  • lucid strolls second rumination, solo exhibition, Saint-Martin Bookshop, Brussels, 2023
  • Swiss Art Awards, Basel, 2023
  • 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

  • Didactic Poetry, Kirchgasse Steckborn, 2023
  • Bad Posture, Lausanne, 2023
  • Taurus, marytwo, Lucerne, 2023
  • LLLLampen Showp Fantastique, Zurich, 2023
  • Look A Long, Projekt Links, Bern, 2022
  • Doors, Provence, Zurich, 2022
  • 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

Grants and awards

  • Junge Kunst, Publikationsstipendium Stadt Luzern, Lucerne, 2020
  • Researchstipendium des Kantons Luzern, Lucerne, 2017
  • Werkbeitrag des Kantons Luzern, Lucerne, 2015
  • Reisestipendium der Stiftung Otto Pfeifer, Lucerne, 2013
  • Atelierstipendium der Stadt Luzern in Chicago, Lucerne, 2012