John Armleder (b. 1948, Geneva) is a singular figure in postwar art and one of the most representative Swiss artists of his generation. His career spans five decades and synthesizes many of the competing aesthetic developments associated with that period. A productive friction—along with an abiding sense of humor and conceptual provocation—animates his earliest work with the Groupe Ecart in Switzerland, his many projects informed by his association with the Fluxus movement, and his interest in John Cage’s work in particular. Since that time, he has made important contributions to the development of painting, sculpture, installation, design, and performance. Accordingly, Armleder operates on many fronts at once, drawing from legacies of seemingly divergent movements like Dada and abstract expressionism, and approaching each exhibition as an uncompromising and often unpredictable work in and of itself.
John Armleder has been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions around the world. Over the last decade alone, he has presented solo exhibitions at the Rockbund Art Museum, Shanghai (2021); KANAL – Centre Pompidou, Brussels (2021); Aspen Art Museum, Colorado (2019); Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, Germany (2019); MUSEION, Bolzano, Italy (2018); Museo Madre, Naples, Italy (2018); Istituto Svizzero, Rome (2017); Le Consortium, Dijon, France (2014); Fernand Léger National Museum, Biot, France (2014); Dairy Art Centre, London (2013); Swiss Institute, New York (2012); and Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice, Italy (2011). Notable group exhibitions include Ice and Fire: A Benefit in Three Parts, The Kitchen, New York (2020); THE ARTIST IS PRESENT, curated by Maurizio Cattelan, Yuz Museum, Shanghai (2018); and The Trick Brain, Aïshti Foundation, Beirut (2017–2018). His work is in the permanent collections of many museums, including the Centre Pompidou, Paris; Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles; Kunstmuseum Basel, Switzerland; Museum of Modern Art, New York; and Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk, Denmark. Armleder lives and works in Geneva.
John Armleder
Convolvulus Canta Brica, 2021
mixed media on canvas
49 1/2 x 49 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches
(125.7 x 125.7 x 8.9 cm)
John Armleder
Ash, 2019
mirrored acrylic, mirrored glass, disco balls, and stainless steel spheres
approximate installation dimensions:
25 x 124 x 174 inches
(63.5 x 315 x 442 cm)
John Armleder
(FS), 2014
mixed media on canvas, 6 chairs
overall:
188 7/8 x 354 3/8 x 30 inches
(480 x 900 x 76.2 cm)
John Armleder
Zakk Wylde II, 2008
acylic on canvas, electric guitar
painting:
47 1/4 x 47 1/4 inches
(120 x 120 cm)
guitar:
40 1/3 x 13 3/4 x 4 inches
(102 x 35 x 10.16 cm)
John Armleder
Ascomycetes, 2005
aluminum, Plexiglass, wood, live and plastic plants, monitors, boombox, compact discs, and fluorescent lights
Installation view, Kunstmuseum, St.Gallen, Switzerland
John Armleder
Bar, 2003
bar, 6 stools, aluminum floor, mirror, and neon
Installation view, Museo d'Arte Contemporanea Donnaregina (MADRE), Naples
John Armleder
E hoi e, 2001
neon on foil
neon:
59 x 59 x 3 inches
(150 x 150 x 7.62 cm)
foil:
dimensions variable
John Armleder
Se-Kure Domes II, 1998 - 1999
6 convex acrylic mirror surveillance domes
Installation view, Museo d'Arte Contemporanea Donnaregina, Naples
John Armleder
Untitled (FS), 1995
12 tables, 12 strip lights
102 1/4 x 167 1/4 x 31 1/2 inches
(260 x 425 x 80 cm)
John Armleder
Furniture Sculpture #268, 1991
acrylic on wire cloth nylon
74 3/4 x 82 3/4 x 66 inches
(190 x 210 x 167.64 cm)
John Armleder
7 June 1987, 1987
chair, gesso and tempera
32 1/2 x 16 x 17 3/4 inches
(83 x 41 x 45 cm)
John Armleder
Dream Piece, 1976
Performance view, Athénée Palace, Bucharest