John Armleder

John Armleder is recognized for the diversity of his artistic endeavors, fusing the Fluxus spirit with abstract painting, integrating readymade and sculpture, and seamlessly blending performance with room-size installations.

Biography of John Armleder

John Armleder was born in 1948 in Geneva, Switzerland. He pursued studies at the École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Genève, from 1966 to 1967, and later attended the Barry Summer School at Glamorgan College of Education in Barry, Wales, in 1969. 

In 1969, alongside Patrick Lucchini and Claude Rychner, Armleder co-founded the Groupe Ecart in Geneva. This group played a significant role in Europe during the 1970s and 1980s, serving not only as an independent publishing house but also introducing a considerable number of notable artists, including Joseph Beuys and Andy Warhol, to Switzerland and Europe.

Later, Armleder became associated with the Neo-Geo artistic movement in the 1980s.

In 1986, Armleder was the representative for Switzerland at the Venice Biennale. Since the 1990s, he has produced installations, paintings, wall paintings, sculptures, and what he refers to as Furniture Sculptures—installations typically involving the juxtaposition of furniture with monochrome or abstract paintings.

John Armleder's recent solo exhibitions include "Yakety Yak" at MRAC Occitanie in Sérignan (2023), "Solid Coated" at Mehdi Chouakri in Berlin (2022), "John Armleder – Furniture Sculptures" at Galerie Andrea Caratsch in St. Moritz (2022), "John Armleder" at MASSIMODECARLO Pièce Unique in Paris (2021), "Again, Just Again" at Rockbund Art Museum in Shanghai (2021), and many more.

Furthermore, Armleder's paintings, sculptures, and other works have been presented in numerous group exhibitions. Among them are Biennale Crans Montana at Guarda Golf Hotel & Residence in Crans Montana (2023), "20" at David Kordansky Gallery in Los Angeles (2023), "Room Service" at MASSIMODECARLO in Milan (2023), "Geometric Opulence" at Museum Haus Konstruktiv in Zürich (2022), "Reflections: Party Fiction" at WOAW gallery in Hong Kong (2022), and many more.

John Armleder's Art Style

Typified by a profound interconnection between life and art, along with the appropriation of objects and quotes, his work is imbued with various influences and references that defy both modernist vernacular and any form of classification.

As a painter, sculptor, and performance artist, Armleder consistently raises inquiries about the nature of art, its potential, and the boundaries it adheres to. Ranging from expansive room installations to abstract paintings, from geometric constructivist works to furniture sculptures and pattern-filled wallpapers, his art notably encompasses attributes reminiscent of Suprematist painting, Minimalist sculpture, Concrete Art, and Dada readymades, among other artistic movements.

Armleder consistently scrutinizes the context of art display, regarding the exhibition as a distinct medium in itself. His work exhibits considerable variation in form and, from the outset, has employed chance as a method for shaping the final forms of his pieces, akin to the approach of John Cage. Frequently employing a dense scenographic hanging style, he places individual works nearby, crafting exhibitions with an installation-like quality.