CLP x Art

Welcome to "You are here"

Clinique La Prairie believes in the promotion of well-being in all its forms, including through the arts, and is therefore proud to offer this year an exclusive place of expression to seven emerging Swiss artists.

Curated by Janina Saile-Mattli and Nathalie Hecker: “The past year’s group exhibitions were inspired by subjects of nature, the environment vs human destruction and the possibility of a world beyond human existence. For the 2023 exhibition “You are here” we aimed at the ideology of the subconscious, the world of the supernatural and fantastic realms which exist all around and within us and also being reflected in popular culture and traditions. The two artists Ruven Stettler and Floyd Grimm intriguingly and perfectly embody these themes in their art making.” 

Art is not simply to be understood…It is more the sense of an indication or suggestion

Joseph Beuys

CLPxArt
CLPxArt
CLPxArt
CLPxArt
CLPxArt

Discover the artists

Ruven and Floyd met in a shared studio in Bern. They recognized the synergies between their themes in painting, such as Japanese pop culture and supernatural imagery. They began to simultaneously paint on one series of images for one month, starting with sketches, intuitively building upon each other’s creations, and gradually advancing more in a conceptual direction. The began to simultaneously paint on one series of images for one month, starting with sketches, responding intuitively to one another and ultimately advancing more conceptually.

The large format painting “Happy, but ok” evolved collaborating this way. During the autumn of 2022, the two artists embarked on a journey to Japan with the purpose of co-creating an experimental film. The profound impact of Japan motivated Stettler and Grimm to initiate an additional painting series centered around the “video game” theme, exploring the potential synergies between this theme and the art of painting.

Both collaborating as the artist duo Grimm X Stettler and pursuing individual artistic paths, Ruven Stettler and Floyd Grimm are attracting substantial attention within the art world, establishing their positions as two promising Swiss artists on the rise.

 
Happy but ok

The artists on “Happy but ok”: “We break through the wall. While the particle effects clear up, we make sure that there are no monsters lurking in the immediate vicinity. A glance at the health display - urgently drink a healing potion. I zoom out. Again, it’s not clear what awaits us on this level. What story is being told. Four weeks to complete this two-player mega-event. Hokusai would probably never have guessed that he would become part of this game. Nor how compatible he is with Europe. It’s a video game based on the feature film adaptation of a fragmentary manga. A panoramic cross through the East-West axis, between dissonance and harmony.”

 
Hiding behind the Wall

The artist on “Hiding behind the Wall: Kitsune and various Arthropods”: “Every morning I walk the busy streets of my neighborhood. The city is filled with noise, smell and visual stimuli. The train is loaded with people: The morning sun shines bright and heavy. Walking to art school takes 15 minutes alongside a busy highway. As I enter the studio there is a calming silence surrounding me. This is how the painting “Hiding behind the Wall: Kitsune and various Arthropods“ emerged. While working at the Kitsune and various Arthropods, which is part of a series of 10 large scale paintings, I had the chance to work at a big studio at the School of Fine Arts in Athens.”

 
Staubwolken

The artist on “Zweite Chance” and “Staubwolken”: “Staubwolken” (first clouds of dust) and “Zweite Chance” (second chance) are compared to human relations like two old friends that haven’t seen each other for some time. Their backgrounds are shaped the same because they grew up together. Later in life, they embarked on separate journeys, shaping distinct personalities. However, they remain united in their friendship at Clinique la Prairie. “

 

 

 
Year of withdrawing from work

The artist on “Year of withdrawing from work”: “This work was created and exhibited in Athens and was originally titled „Am Fusse des Leuchtturms ist es dunkel“ (at the foot of the lighthouse it is dark). For the “Soup Opera” exhibition at the Artist Run Space named MEME, the painting was cut in the middle, with an electric fan positioned beneath, thus extending the artwork’s boundaries and extracting it from its usual context. Harnessing the air circulation, the painting engages in a cyclic and rhythmic motion, revealing facets of reflection and ambiguity. At Clinique La Prairie, it emerges anew, stretched on a frame, a stark contrast to its previous state where it once revolved in circles during a rooftop performance back in the summer of 2019.”

 
Various works on paper

The artist on “Various works on paper”: “This series is informed by rapid, almost seemingly driven and applied on accessible materials, whose appropriation seems to be easy. They are reminiscent of popular culture and drawings in public spaces. The whole series contains 200 pieces all in the same format.”

 
Der Augenzeuge

The artist on “Der Augenzeuge” : “Der Augenzeige (the witness) was created after a five-month artist residency in Cairo. Inspired by the scorching desert and the ancient buildings and their mystical history, an image emerged that is difficult to decipher. A luminous being appears to be walking in the foreground from a sacred building which also appears to have a human head. What the figures are and how they relate to each other is unclear, it seems as if the moment of the picture is the moment before a possible interaction.”

CONTACT

For more information on the exhibition "You are here", please contact info@laprairie.ch