PRESS RELEASE
(St. Moritz, Switzerland) Vito Schnabel is pleased to present Urs Fischer’s Bruno & Yoyo, the inaugural exhibition at his eponymous gallery in St. Moritz. Schnabel’s first permanent gallery space, the Vito Schnabel Gallery, reflects his longstanding commitment to supporting living artists. Bruno & Yoyo pays homage to Bruno Bischofberger, with whom Schnabel has co-presented three exhibitions. The exhibition marks Fischer’s first solo show in his native country of Switzerland since 2008 and first collaboration with Schnabel. Known for working across a variety of mediums, Fischer will present new paintings and sculptures including a new transient wax sculpture featuring a life-size Bischofberger seated with his wife Yoyo on a pair of baroque oak chairs—the artist’s nod to the dealer’s collection.
In Parkett, Nicholas Cullinan describes Fischer’s waxworks as “doppelgängers” serving as “doubles or placeholders for people and things departed.” The space’s transition from Bischofberger to Schnabel serves as a particularly poignant tribute to the Swiss dealer’s venerable role in the space. Fischer’s candle sculptures dramatically erode, casting the passage of time as an added dimension to the piece and allowing the viewer experience the work at various stages throughout the exhibition.
About Urs Fischer:
Urs Fischer was born in 1973 in Zurich and studied photography at the Schule für Gestaltung, Zurich. He has exhibited extensively internationally, and his work is included in many important public and private collections worldwide. Recent solo exhibitions include Urs Fischer, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (2013); Madame Fisscher, Palazzo Grassi, Venice (2012); Skinny Sunrise, Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna (2012); Oscar the Grouch, The Brant Foundation Art Study Center, Greenwich, Connecticut (2010); Marguerite de Ponty, New Museum, New York (2009); Cockatoo Island, Kaldor Art Projects and the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust, Sydney (2007); Mary Poppins, Blaffer Gallery, The Art Museum of the University of Houston, Texas (2006); Paris 1919, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam (2006); Jet Set Lady, Fondazione Nicola Trussardi, Milan (2005); Kir Royal, Kunsthaus Zürich (2004); and Not My House, Not My Fire, Espace 315, Centre Pompidou, Paris (2004). Fischer’s work has been presented in numerous group exhibitions, including the Venice Biennale (2003, 2007 and 2011); The Event Sculpture, Henry Moore Institute, Leeds (2015); Burning Down the House, Gwangju Biennale (2014); L’invention de l’oeuvre: Rodin et les ambassadeurs, Musée Rodin, Paris (2011); Modern British Sculpture, Royal Academy of Arts, London (2011); Unmonumental: The Object in the 21st Century, New Museum, New York (2007–2008); Fractured Figure: Works from the Dakis Joannou Collection, Deste Foundation for Contemporary Art, Athens (2007–2008); Sequence 1: Painting and Sculpture in the François Pinault Collection, Palazzo Grassi, Venice (2007); and Cinq milliards d’années, Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2006–2007). Fischer lives and works in New York.
