Karen Lamassonne / Gina Fischli

Karen Lamassonne: Ruido / Noise
Ruido / Noise is the first international survey of the work of Colombian American artist Karen Lamassonne. Lamassonne was a central figure in the male-dominated Cali and Bogotá art and film scenes of the 1970s and 80s, and throughout her career has maintained a focus on self-portraiture and depictions of intimacy. Her practice was initially centered on painting, yet her involvement with cinema led to an engagement with video, photography, animation, storyboarding and art direction. Spanning from her early years to today, the exhibit at Swiss Institute shows Lamassonne’s radical, longstanding commitment to portraying women as desiring subjects.

Karen Lamassonne (b. 1954, New York) lives and works in Atlanta, GA. She has had solo exhibitions at the Museo de Arte Moderno la Tertulia, Cali (1989 and 2017); Museo Rayo, Roldanillo (2019); and Facultad de Artes ASAB, Bogotá (2019). Recent group shows include Radical Women: Latin American Art, 1960-85 at the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, the Brooklyn Museum, New York and Pinacoteca, São Paulo; The Art of Disobedience at the Museo de Arte Moderno, Bogotá (2018); and Voces íntimas, Museo Nacional, Bogotá (2017).

Ruido / Noise is organized in partnership with Swiss Institute, New York; KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin; and Museo de Arte Moderno de Medellín. In conjunction with the exhibition and in partnership with SI, Anthology Film Archives will present a series of screenings starting in September that focuses on the film work of Karen Lamassonne and Luis Ospina. For more information, please click here.

This exhibition is made possible through support from the Terra Foundation for American Art.

This exhibition is organized by former SI Director Simon Castets, Curator at Large Laura McLean-Ferris, and Senior Curator Alison Coplan.

Gina Fischli: I love being creative
I love being creative is the first institutional solo show in the United States by Swiss artist Gina Fischli. Much of Fischli’s work invokes issues of desire and entrapment with wry humor, often featuring references to domestic spaces, such as furniture and pets, and cute crafts, including glitter and cakes made from clay. In a new multi-channel video and suite of murals, Fischli dissects the ideals that fuel artistic ambitions and irreverently alludes to their contradictions.

Gina Fischli (b. 1989, Zürich, CH) lives and works in Zürich. She has had solo exhibitions at Neuer Essener Kunstverein, Essen (2020); DELF, Vienna (2017); Forde, Geneva (2016), amongst others. Recent group exhibitions include the Miniatur Biennale Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf (2022); Nothing to Write Home About, Kim?, Contemporary Art Centre, Riga (2022); Winterfest, Aspen Art Museum, Aspen (2020); SculptureGarden Geneva Biennale, Geneva (2020); A home is not a house, Fri Art, Fribourg (2020); The Garden, Royal Academy, London (2019); and SI ONSITE, Swiss Institute, New York (2019). In 2021, Fischli presented Ravenous and Predatory for the Cork Street Banner Commission, London.

This exhibition is organized by Laura McLean-Ferris, Curator at Large, and Daniel Merritt, Curator and Head of Residencies.

About Swiss Institute
Founded in 1986, Swiss Institute (SI) is an independent non-profit contemporary art institution dedicated to promoting forward-thinking and experimental art making through innovative exhibitions, education, and programs. Committed to the highest standards of curatorial and educational excellence, SI serves as a platform for emerging artists, catalyzes new perspectives on celebrated work, and fosters appreciation for under-recognized positions. SI is committed to being an organization that is diverse, equitable, and accessible in its work, structure, and programming. Open to the public free-of-charge, Swiss Institute seeks to explore how a Swiss context can be the starting point for international conversations in the fields of visual and performing arts, design, and architecture.

SI Programming is made possible in part with public funds from Pro Helvetia, Swiss Arts Council; the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature; and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Main sponsors include LUMA Foundation, Friends of SI and the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation. Exhibitions are made possible in part by the SI Annual Exhibition Fund with leadership support provided by the LUMA Foundation, Michael Ringier, Olivier Audemars, Philippe Bertherat, Max and Monique Burger, the Garcia Family Foundation, Florian Gutzwiller, Dominique Lévy, Susanne von Meiss, Iwan Wirth, Ghislaine Brenninkmeijer, the Kevin Wendle Foundation, and the Freedman Family Foundation. SI gratefully acknowledges Swiss Re as SI ONSITE Partner, Vitra as Design Partner, Crozier Fine Arts as Preferred Shipping Art Logistics Partner, and SWISS as Travel Partner.

Critical operating support has been provided to SI in 2020–22 as part of a collective fundraising effort. We thank the following supporters: Teiger Foundation, The Willem de Kooning Foundation, The Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, The Cy Twombly Foundation, The Stavros Niarchos Foundation, The Destina Foundation, Henry Luce Foundation, The Arison Arts Foundation, The Fox Aarons Foundation, The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Foundation, David Rockefeller Fund, Sotheby’s, Blavatnik Family Foundation, Robert Lehman Foundation, The Jill and Peter Kraus Foundation, The Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation, and The Richard Pousette-Dart Foundation.