Tobias Spichtig

born 1982 in Lucerne, Switzerland. A good painting is as if a star would sing live constantly—always as good as the best moments of a concert, always in a state of pre-breaking point. – Tobias Spichtig Tobias Spichtig draws inspiration from the world of fashion, theater and music, and works in a variety of media, including painting, sculpture, installation, and photography. Using everyday icons such as sunglasses, pets, and flowers, as well as installations that mimic domestic landscapes such as "refrigerator mounds" and "mattress fields," he explores the intersection between the private and the public. His enigmatic portrait series, brimming with intimacy, blur the lines between the mundane and the glamorous, testing the boundaries between the individual and the collective. His works have been exhibited internationally at Kunsthalle Basel, Basel; Lafayette Anticipations, Paris; KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin; KINDL - Centre for Contemporary Art, Berlin; Swiss Institute, New York; Boros Foundation, Berghain, Berlin; Kaleidoscope, Spazio Maiocchi, Milan; Centre d'art contemporain - la Synagogue de Delme, Delme; SALTS, Basel; Museum Folkwang, Essen; Dortmunder Kunstverein; Malta Contemporary Art, Valletta; Museum of Contemporary Art, Belgrade; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna; Ludlow 38 (Goethe-Institut), New York; Ursula Blickle Foundation, Karlsruhe; and Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art, Rotterdam.

Gallery exhibitions

Tobias Spichtig, People at Jan Kaps, Cologne
People
30 Aug – 26 Oct 2024
Jan Kaps, Cologne
Opening: Fri., 30 Aug. 6–9pm
Tobias Spichtig, Long Stories at Jan Kaps, Cologne
Long Stories
17 Apr – 21 May 2018
Jan Kaps, Cologne
Tobias Spichtig, Die Matratzen at Jan Kaps, Cologne
Die Matratzen
12 Feb – 02 Apr 2016
Jan Kaps, Cologne

Institutional exhibitions

Tobias Spichtig, It's Beautiful When the Spirits Arrive at Tao Art, Taipei
It's Beautiful When the Spirits Arrive
05 Oct – 30 Nov 2024
Tao Art, Taipei
Tobias Spichtig, Everything No One Ever Wanted at Kunsthalle Basel, Basel
Everything No One Ever Wanted
19 Jan – 28 Apr 2024
Kunsthalle Basel, Basel
Tobias Spichtig, DIE MATRATZEN at KW Institute For Contemporary Art, Berlin
DIE MATRATZEN
19 Jan – 23 Jan 2022
KW Institute For Contemporary Art, Berlin
Tobias Spichtig, GOOD OK GREAT FANTASTIC PERFECT GRAND THANK YOU at Swiss Institute, New York
GOOD OK GREAT FANTASTIC PERFECT GRAND THANK YOU
09 Sep 21 – 09 Jan 2022
Swiss Institute, New York
Tobias Spichtig, Hi is just another word for Hello at Kaleidoscope At Spazio Maiocchi, Milan
Hi is just another word for Hello
10 Jan – 14 Feb 2020
Kaleidoscope At Spazio Maiocchi, Milan
Tobias Spichtig, Love and die at Cac - La Synagogue De Delme, Delme
Love and die
19 Oct 19 – 02 Feb 2020
Cac - La Synagogue De Delme, Delme
Tobias Spichtig, I'm afraid I don't know how to explain all this at Museum Folkwang, Essen
I'm afraid I don't know how to explain all this
28 Feb – 14 Apr 2019
Museum Folkwang, Essen
Tobias Spichtig, Fridge and Mind at Malta Contemporary, Valletta
Fridge and Mind
19 Jan – 03 Mar 2018
Malta Contemporary, Valletta
Tobias Spichtig, FADE IN 2: EXT. MODERNIST HOME – NIGHT at Museum Of Contemporary Art, Belgrade
FADE IN 2: EXT. MODERNIST HOME – NIGHT
14 Jul – 21 Aug 2017
Museum Of Contemporary Art, Belgrade
Tobias Spichtig, HUNGER at Dortmunder Kunstverein, Dortmund
HUNGER
20 May – 16 Jul 2017
Dortmunder Kunstverein, Dortmund
Tobias Spichtig, Total Hell at Waldo, Rockport
Total Hell
from 18 Aug 2018
Waldo, Rockport

Press

Vita

Lives and works in Berlin and Zurich Born 1982 in Lucerne, Switzerland

Upcoming

Tobias Spichtig, Tao Art, Taipei (Solo)

Selected Solo Exhibitions

2024 People, Jan Kaps, Cologne Everything No One Ever Wanted, Kunsthalle Basel, Basel

2023 Poetry, Meredith Rosen Gallery, New York Dear Friends, O-Town House, Los Angeles

2022 Die Matratzen, KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin

2021 Good OK Great Fantastic Perfect Grand Thank You, Swiss Institute, New York Nothing , Freehouse, London

2020 Subtitles for Footnotes, Galerie Bernhard, Zürich Pretty Fine, CFA, Berlin Hi is just another word for hello, Kaleidoscope, Spazio Maiocchi, Milan

2019 Love and die, Centre d'art contemporain - la synagogue de Delme, Delme Fridge & Mind Again, (curated by Samuel Leuenberger), SALTS, Basel SPRING, Deborah Schamoni, Munich I'm afraid I don't know how to explain all this, Museum Folkwang, Essen

2018 Das Böse im Dunkeln, Freehouse, London Total Hell, Waldo, Rockport Long Stories, Jan Kaps, Cologne Fridge and Mind, Malta Contemporary Art, Valetta

2017 Die Matratzen, Georg Kargl, Vienna Body and Ghost, Malta Contemporary, Valetta

2016 Like Deadlines in Heaven, Gallery Bernhard, Zurich Die Matratzen, Jan Kaps, Cologne

2015 Daily Business, (in collaboration With Paolo Thorsen-nagel), LambdaLambdaLambda, Pristina Backdrops for Primitives, Michael Thibault Gallery, Los Angeles

2014 Sorry I'm Late / Don't Worry Time Does Not Exist., Gallery Bernhard, Zurich

2013 This Is What Happened In the Jungle., Eleven Rivington, New York Cyan, Yellow, and Violette, Georg Gatsas - Tobias Mirror, Kunstrayen, Riehen

2012 the Blue, the Red, the Green, the Cuboid and the Pyramid, Ursula Blickle Foundation, Karlsruhe

2011 the Blue, the Red, the Yellow, the White, the Brown, and the Green, Ac Kupper_modern, Zurich

Selected Group Exhibitions

2024 Yours Truly, Nahmad Contemporary, New York Athletics of the figures, Arcane 57, Paris

2023 Rituals for a new world, Lafayette Anticipations, Paris

2022 Forming Communities, KINDL - Centre for Contemporary Art, Berlin Lobe Block, Berlin

2021 New Flesh, Forde, Geneva Stitches, Scènes, Corps, Décors | When The Subversive Stitches, Le Commun, Genève Grand Ménage, Clearing, Paris Party de Campagne, CAC - La Synagoge de Delme, Delme Pathologically Social, O-Town House, Los Angeles

2020 Studio Berlin - cooperation between Boros and Berghain, Berghain, Berlin Poglos / Overtone, Avant-Garde Institute, Warsaw

2019 40,000, A Museum of Curiosity, (curated by Brigitte Franzen), Fellbach Small Sculpture Triennial 2019, Fellbach Starship. The Near Future, Volksbühne, Berlin

2018 Five Million Years, Deborah Schamoni, Munich Ormai, Balice Hertling, Paris

2017 Things in Shape of Things, Galeria Stereo, Warsaw Okey Dokey, Zum Jülichstübli, Jan Kaps, Cologne Fade In 2: Ext. Modernist Home - Night, Museum of Contemporary Art in Belgrade, Belgrade Summer Show, Carl Kostyál, Stockholm Hunger, (curated by Oriane Durand), Dortmunder Kunstverein, Dortmund Lunar Intervals, Swiss Institute, New York

2016 Tbilisi 16, Kitchen Hall Zurich, Tbilisi Parapet / Real Humans, P4s, Los Angeles I Pledge Allegiance, (curated by KM Temporaer), On Stellar Rays, New York

2015 Infamous Lives, Oracle, Berlin The Subjects of the Artists, Michael Thibault Gallery, Los Angeles A Form Is a Social Gatherer, Plymouth Rock, Zurich All the instruments agree: an exhibition or a concert, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles

2014 Attention Economy, (curated by Nicolaus Schafhausen), Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna Elevation 1049*, (curated by Olympia Scarry and Neville Wakefield), Gstaad

2013 Celluloid Brushes, Ludlow 38 (Goethe Institute), New York Sallie Gardner: A Group Exhibition, Michael Thibault Gallery, Los Angeles

2011 Melanchotopia, Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art, Rotterdam