Kerim Seiler

Kerim Seiler (born 1974 in Bern) is a Swiss artist and architect.

Kerim Seiler
Born(1974-11-13)November 13, 1974
Bern
OccupationArtist
Years active1999–present
Partner(s)Claire Dugan
Websitekerimseiler.com

Education

Seiler began his studies in 1991 by completing a pre-course for the Kunstgewerbeschule Zürich. Between 1993 and '95 he completed the degree course "Média Mixtes" at the Ecole Supérieure d’Art Visuel Genève. From 1997 to 2002, under the tutelage of Prof. Bernhard Johannes Blume, he continued his education at the Hochschule für bildende Künste Hamburg. In 2011 he was awarded a Master of Advanced Studies degree in Architecture at ETH Zürich.

Career

Early work of Kerim Seiler is characterized by two-dimensional, life-size paintings of ordinary city objects, such as park benches and ticket machines.[1] He diversified into larger works, such as colorful and inflatable molecule sculptures, a 250-meter-long permanent neon light installation at Zürich's central train station[2] and his vaguely habitable brick structure Gulliver in Pfungen (2009).[3]:9 Appearing to maintain a classical view of harmony,[4] Seiler has said that space and structure are key elements in his work. Elsewhere it is written, "With the alphabet lettering paradigm in mind, Kerim Seiler has fashioned a non-alphabet system that revolves around a letter that cannot be deployed in words, its existence merely inferred by other letters. It may fluidly receive or reject ornament, be layered or cloaked, snap open and release, or serve as a crouching mechanism."[5]

Seiler's acclaimed 2014 habitable sculpture Relay (Situationist Space Program), exhibited at abc—art berlin contemporary,[6] is a replica of his 2010 habitable sculpture of the same title on permanent display in Johannesburg,[7] of which an earlier (2012) replica had been exhibited on the roof of Hotel Crystal in St. Moritz[8] and at Grieder Contemporary in Zürich.[9][10] Though his large-scale works often entail municipal (e.g., his 2014 building facade Iris in Schlieren, Switzerland[11][12][13]) or ecclesiastical (e.g., his prominent 2015 neon sculpture DIMETHYLTRYPTAMIN at the Roman Catholic Diocese / erstwhile Prince-Bishopric of Würzburg[14]) collaboration, they are sometimes executed covertly and/or via agricultural machinery.[15]:103 In 2016 Seiler created "a neon sign in the shape of bones",[16] and, according to Urs Bühler, a neon installation entitled "Space Knot" proceeding along 300 linear meters beneath the Swiss National Museum ceiling, "like a ghost presiding over the museum, curved shapes giving an impression of Harald Naegeli spray cans transubstantiated into colorful illumination."[17]

Seiler's comprehensive practice—installation, performance,[18] sculpture, painting, drawing—has sought to dismantle boundaries between art, science and community.[19][20][21] His energy and inventiveness, and consistently visceral, visually arresting work, have established him as a leading Swiss artist of his generation. His 3-volume compendium of writings, drawings and photographs Kerim in the Sky with Seiler was published in 2012 by Nieves.[22]

Seiler’s work is exhibited worldwide, including in Moscow, Cairo, Zürich, New York City, Berlin, Paris, Los Angeles and Johannesburg. He is represented by Grieder Contemporary in Berlin and Zürich,[23] where he is also a key strategist in the rehabilitation of Cabaret Voltaire.[24] In 2016 Seiler produced two enormous public sculptures for the ceremonial opening of the world's longest and deepest traffic tunnel, the NEAT Gotthard Base Tunnel in Switzerland.[25][n 1] In 2020 Seiler collaborated with Fuhrimann Hächler Architekten on a villa in Küsnacht.[26]

Notes
  1. Toward the northern end of the Gotthard Base Tunnel, in Rynächt (between Altdorf and Schattdorf), Seiler fashioned "a picnic area where travelers are invited to pause, look forward and backward, ponder." In the seminary town of Pollegio to the south, by contrast, is Seiler's "spectacular nine-meter tall pavilion, a vibrant platform for meetings, talks and live music." (Pfeiffer)
gollark: Is that a rat or mouse? I forgot the difference.
gollark: Grammar doesn't not exist, it's just inconsistent.
gollark: Ah, the e^xiπ thing.
gollark: Looks like series expansions of stuff.
gollark: Just use supercapacitors.

References
  1. Renninger, S. V., "Kunst wie LSD: Der Künstler Kerim Seiler", Schweizer Monatshefte, Nr. 11, 2008.
  2. Schumann, S., "Frank Stella Saved my Life", Purple, Spring/Summer 2014.
  3. Peters, T., & Peters, B., Inside Smartgeometry (Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2013), p. 9.
  4. Wuhol, A., "Kerim Seiler answers 'What is harmonic?'", YouTube, Feb 3, 2007.
  5. Woodard, D., "Floccinaucinihilipilification", Grieder Contemporary, 2012.
  6. Anon., "10 Dinge, die man auf der ABC nicht verpassen sollte", Monopol, Sep 18, 2014.
  7. Dietzel, N., "Rooftop 'Camping' in Johannesburg", Afar, Sep/Oct 2016.
  8. St.Moritz Art Masters, "Kerim Seiler", YouTube, Aug 27, 2012.
  9. Vrancken, J., "abc art berlin contemporary", art agenda, Sep 19, 2014.
  10. Walde, G., "In Berlin lockt die ABC-Messe mit 111 Galerien", Berliner Morgenpost, Sep 20, 2014.
  11. Schanzer, S., "Farbspektakel neben dem Gleis: «Iris» von Schlieren liess die Hüllen fallen", Limmattaler Zeitung, Apr 26, 2014.
  12. Heer, P., Iris office building in Schlieren, Imgur, 2014.
  13. Smith, A., "Swiss photographer celebrates nation’s architectural gems", Lonely Planet Travel News, Aug 29, 2018.
  14. Papay, C. J., "Was sucht das illegale Halluzinogen DIMETHYLTRYPTAMIN an diesen Fenstern?", Würzburg Erleben, May 26, 2015.
  15. Huber, J., Stoellger, P., & Zumsteg, S., Ästhetik der Kritik oder Verdeckte Ermittlung (Vienna: Springer, 2007), p. 103.
  16. Williams, G., "A New Restaurant for (and of) the Berlin Art Scene", The New York Times, Jun 23, 2016.
  17. Bühler, U., "Platz für das Spitz", Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Jul 25, 2016.
  18. Seiler, K., "AKTION #35: 'Space is my Canvas'", Vimeo, Aug 29, 2014.
  19. Anon., "Pop-up Garden Springs Up in Berlin", The Local, Aug 18, 2014.
  20. Schiering, P., "The Salon as a Space of Possibilities", Salon Neucologne, May 2013.
  21. Anon., "Blickwechsel mit Kerim Seiler in Siegen", Kunstverein Siegen, Sep 2010.
  22. Seiler, Kerim in the Sky with Seiler (Zürich: Nieves, 2012).
  23. Grieder Contemporary, Kerim Seiler, 2007-present.
  24. Paunić, N., "Cabaret Voltaire Securing its Future", Widewalls, Feb 2016.
  25. Pfeiffer, P., "Zwei Skulpturen, die die Schweiz bewegen", Die Mobiliar, Jun 2016.
  26. Raderschad, K., "50er-Jahre-Villa in Küsnacht: So wohnt das Künstler-Paar der Galerie Grieder Contemporary", NZZ Bellevue, Mar 28, 2020.
  • "Seiler, Kerim". SIKART Lexicon on art in Switzerland.
  • Publications by and about Kerim Seiler in the catalogue Helveticat of the Swiss National Library
  • Literature by and about Kerim Seiler in the German National Library catalogue
  • Kerim Seiler at Library of Congress Authorities
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