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, parts of a heating system from an abandoned nursery, found devices, LED tube, electrical wire
Dimensions variable
Temporary Relations (Zollikerstrasse 249)
2023
Detail
Temporary Relations (Zollikerstrasse 249)
2023
Detail
Installation view
lucid strolls, 2023
Installation view
lucid strolls, 2023
Glasses
2022
Steel, agate, findings, magnets, chains, snap hook; in collab. with Aline Battegay
19 × 25 cm
A Spiral And A Circle
2023
Graphite on paper, magnets, metal box, glass
37 × 45 cm
Walking Labyrinths
2022
Graphite on paper, magnets, metal box, glass
36,5 × 45 cm
Installation view
lucid strolls second rumination
, Saint-Martin Bookshop, Brussels, 2023
Installation view
lucid strolls second rumination
, Saint-Martin Bookshop, Brussels, 2023
Installation view
lucid strolls second rumination
, Saint-Martin Bookshop, Brussels, 2023
Lamp 1
Glass, neon, found stuff, magnets
Dimensions variable
Lamp 2
Detail
Collector
2022
Glass, metal, found stuff, wheels
Dimensions variable
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