PROJECTS & EXHIBITIONS &
PROJECTS & EXHIBITIONS &
Through the various projects that the artists with whom we work have been able to realise, we have collaborated with a wide range of galleries, museums, institutions and partners all over the world. One of the ways in which we support these artists is by providing strategic advice on collaborations, as well as assisting with the planning and implementation of projects. The depth of our involvement varies according to the individual circumstances of each project, ranging from basic advice to managing the organisation of the project.
Patric Sandri — Reflektionen
Solo exhibition at the Mobiliar Art Collection, Switzerland
February 22, 2024 — July 31, 2024
Berne, Switzerland
One of the focal points of our collection is the promotion of young artists. We are therefore launching a pilot project: embedded in the exhibition accompanying our art purchases, we are making the room within the room available to an artist in temporary exhibitions. Here, art acts as a platform to address socially relevant topics. Like innovation, for example. Innovation is important for the future viability of our society. Upheavals, crises and changing living conditions always offer opportunities. Innovation is needed to take advantage of these opportunities and remain resilient.
In this context, we present the Swiss artist Patric Sandri (*1979). In his work, the artist focuses on abstract painting. In doing so, he explores the ambivalence between tradition and innovation by rethinking traditional panel painting. Paint, canvas and stretcher frame remain the same, but instead of applying the colors directly to the surfaces, he applies neon pigments to the hidden edges behind the canvas. The colors reflect through the translucent voile fabric, creating further spatial images. The creation of colors through reflections is an innovative feature of Sandri's art as well as the systematic play with infinite color combinations in his artistic process.
The boundaries between painting and sculpture blur in Patric Sandri's artistic work in an enchanting way, with not only the front of the canvas but also the back becoming an integral part of the artwork. Sandri stages the canvas as an architectural space in which he creates a relationship between image and space, between art and its surroundings. His works emphasize the contingency of perception and show that an image always depends on its medium, context and viewer.
At the same time, we are pleased to open the collection exhibition "Acquisitions 2022/2023 - the Mobiliar Cooperative Collection" in the foyer. You will have the opportunity to discover a selection of the 2022/2023 acquisitions. This exhibition will be on display until February 2025.
Text by Mobiliar Art Collection
Mobiliar Art Collection, Bern, Switzerland
Tobias Gutmann — Face-o-mat
Solo exhibition at the Ithra Museum, Saudi Arabia
19 January, 2024 — 19 March, 2024
At the heart of Tobias Gutmann’s artistic practice lies the creation and investigation of encounters – between people, cultures and environments, but also between what we perceive on the outside and what we feel on the inside. Constantly aiming to enter into a flow state of creation, the act of drawing becomes a ritual in which the artist manifests and captures his encounters through his hands. The drawings always entail playfulness and curiosity, wilderness and tranquility. With his portrait performance Face-o-mat, Tobias Gutmann has met over 5000 people worldwide to draw abstract interpretations of what he sees in their faces. Rather than providing a photorealistic depiction, the artist aims to capture the sound of a person. The ever-growing archive of his drawings has developed its own language and meaning, dissolving into multiple narratives in various mediums.
In a 2 month exhibition, Tobias Gutmann presents his Face-o-mat at Ithra. The site-specific cardboard installation serves as an environment for the three-day Face-o-mat performance, where Tobias Gutmann will be present to draw portraits of people, as well as a two-month Face-o-mat Atelier. Here, visitors will be able to experience Face-o-mat from both sides, taking on the role of painter and painted. An online archive shows the variety of drawings created, creating the narrative of how people visiting the exhibition see each other.
“Face-o-mat means looking with curious eyes, listening and breathing, until I see the person behind a face. Before the drawing begins, I wait until my preconceptions about a person start to disappear. It takes courage to look into someone's eyes, or let someone look into my eyes. It takes time to grasp the person. In everyday life we often don’t look at each other long enough to really see the person we encounter. It takes a deeper kind of seeing, to look past the façade, past visual aspects that are like a mask, covering the unique personality of each and every human being. How would our world look like if we would not only be connected globally through digital devices, but would take the time to connect through conscious, everyday face-to-face encounters?” - Tobias Gutmann
Text by Ithra Museum
ARAB NEWS: Swiss artist’s abstract portrait project comes to Ithra
Text by Jasmine Bager, January 23, 2024
DHAHRAN: If you visited the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture, or Ithra, during the Beyond Learning Conference this week, you might have seen Swiss-German artist Tobias Gutmann seated at his Face-O-Mat installation, creating abstract interpretations of strangers’ faces using ink and paper.
“With my project, Face-O-Mat, I look into people’s faces. It takes courage to look into someone’s eyes or let someone look into my eyes,” Gutmann said. “How would our world look like if we would take the time to connect through conscious everyday face-to-face encounters?”
Born in 1987 in Wewak, Papua New Guinea, to Swiss-German parents, and having moved to Switzerland at 13, the now 36-year-old Gutmann learned early on that no matter where he was in the world, he could communicate through art.
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Tobias Gutmann on his arrival at the Ithra Museum in Saudi-Arabia
Photo credit: Arab News, Jasmine Bager
Photo credit: Arab News, Jasmine Bager
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