biography
John Armleder, born in 1948 in Geneva, Switzerland, studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts from 1966-1967 and at the Glamorgan Summer School, Britain in 1969. He is a performance artist, painter and sculptor whose works are based on the Fluxus-involvement from the 1960s-70s. He is one of the co-founders of the Ecart Group, that was not only an independent publishing house but also introduced popular artists such as Joseph Beuys and Andy Warhol to Switzerland. Armleder often examines the context in which art is shown and regards the exhibition as an independent medium. Since the 1990s he has created installations, paintings, murals, sculptures and so-called furniture sculptures - installations that usually juxtapose furniture and monochrome or abstract paintings, either literally on the furniture or on a canvas hanging nearby. His work is very different in form and from the beginning he has used chance as a method to create the final shapes of the pieces, similar to John Cage. He often uses a dense scenographic hanging style, placing individual works in close proximity and creating installative exhibitions.
Armleder's works were shown amongst others at the Schirn Kunsthalle (Frankfurt), the National Museum of Osaka (Japan), Centre Pompidou (Paris), Kunsthalle Zürich, Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (Geneva), Hirschorn Museum (Washington) and Fondazione Prada (Milan).
selected solo exhibitions
2023
EXPERIENCES, Kunsthalle Marcel Duchamp, Cully
2021
John Armleder, Rockbund Art Museum, Shanghai
2019
John Armleder. Quicksand 2, Musée d'Art Moderne et Contemporain, Geneva
John Armleder, Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt
John Armleder: Spoons, moons and masks, Aspen Art Museum, Aspen
2016
Endless, Museion Museum für moderne und zeitgenössische Kunst, Bolzano
John Armleder in Mykonos, Athens School of Fine Arts, Mykonos
2015
Let it Shine, Let it Shine, Let it Shine. It’s Xmas again!, La Rinascente, Milan
Out!, Galerie Andrea Caratsch, Zurich
John M Armleder, L’Académie Conto, Vosne Romanée
2014
John Armleder, Musée national Fernand Léger, Boit
2013
Pantan, Galerie Andrea Caratsch, St. Moritz
Overload, Galerie Andrea Caratsch, Zurich
2012
John Armleder – Away, Galerie Andrea Caratsch, St. Moritz
Volta, St. Moritz Art Masters, St. Moritz
Selected Furniture Sculptures 1979-2012, Swiss Institute of Contemporary Art, New York
John M. Armleder – Décor, Fondation Tuck, Château de Vert-Mont, Rueil-Malmaison
2011
John M Armleder – Away, Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice
I’m late, I’m late, I’m running for a date, Galerie Andrea Caratsch, Zurich
Carte Blanche à John M Armleder – All of the above, Palais de Tokyo, Paris
2008
AGAIN, Galerie Andrea Caratsch, Zurich
Paint Happens, Galerie Andrea Caratsch, Zurich
John Armleder: Jacques Garcia, Centre Culturel Suisse, Paris
Scrambled and Poached, Simon Lee Gallery, London
John Armleder, Château des Adhémar, Centre d’art contemporain Montélimar; Caserne Saint Martin, Montélimar
John Armleder, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane
2007
Too Much is not Enough, Rose Art Museum of Brandeis University, Boston
2006
John Armleder, Kunstverein Hannover, Hannover
About Nothing, Works on Paper 1964-2004, ICA Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia
John Armleder, Tate Liverpool, Liverpool
Encore, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Rennes
About Nothing. Works on Paper 1964-2006, MAMCO Musée d’art moderne et contemporain, Geneva
Too Much is not Enough, Kunstverein Hannover, Hannover
Match. John M Armleder & Claus Jensen, Kunstmuseum Esjberg, Esjberg
2005
Everything, Caratsch & de Pury, Zurich
2004
John Armleder, Kunstverein Ruhr, Essen
Works on Paper, Kunsthalle Zürich, Zurich
2002
John Armleder, Museo de Chidao, Lisbon
2000
Projects 72, MOMA Museum of Modern Art, New York
John Armleder, Chateau de Fraissé, Fraissé des Corbières
Sylvie Fleury, John Armleder, Kunstmuseum, St. Gallen
1999
John Armleder, Atrium UBS, Geneva
1998
Peintures Murales 1967-1998, Casino Luxembourg, Forum d’Art Contemporain, Luxembourg
at any speed, Kunsthalle Baden-Baden, Baden-Baden
1997
Peintures Murales 1967-1997, Le parvis, Centre d’Art Contemporain, Ibos
1996
John Armleder, Villa Carlotta, Fondation Ratti, Tremezzo
John Armleder, ECAL Ecole Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne, Lausanne
1995
John Armleder, Schloss Wolfsberg, Ermatingen
1994
John Armleder, Centre d’Art Contemporain Le Capitou, Fréjus
1993
John Armleder, Wiener Secession, Vienna
John Armleder, Villa Arson, CNAC Centre National d’Art Contemporain, Nice
1992
John Armleder, Centre Genevois de Gravure Contemporaine, Geneva
John Armleder, Centre Culturel de Dax, Ville de Dax
Four Paintings 1989-1992, Centraal Museum, Utrecht
Works on Paper 1966-1992, Centraal Museum, Utrecht
1991
John Armleder, Castello di Rivara, Rivara-Torino
1990
John Armleder, Louis Ferdinand Centre d’Art Contemporain, Châteauroux
Furniture-Sculpture 1980-1990, Musée Rath, Geneva
1987
John M. Armleder, Kunstmuseum Winterthur, Winterthur
John Armleder, L’Arc Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris
John Armleder, Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen, Düsseldorf
John Armleder, Nationalgalerie Berlin, Berlin
John Armleder, Musée de Peinture et de Sculpture, Grenoble
1986
John Armleder, Ecole Nationale d’Art Décoratif, Limoges
John Armleder, 42. Biennale di Venezia, Pavillon Suisse
John Armleder, Musée d’Art et d’Histoire, Geneva
1984
John Armleder, Künstlerhaus, Stuttgart
1983
Arbeiten auf Papier 1962-1983, Kunstmuseum Solothurn, Solothurn
1982
John Armleder, Musée d’Art et d’Histoire, Fribourg
Nylistasafnik, The Living Arts Museum, Reykjavik
1980
891 und weitere Stücke, Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel
1976
Six artistes genevois contemporains, Palais de l’Athénée, Geneva
1973
Rainbows in Heaven et autres dessins, Palais de l’Athénée, Geneva