b. 1947, Switzerland

Urs Lüthi Biography

Urs Lüthi, who holds major international acclaim, is known for his uncanny self-staging photographs and sculptures. He has a rigorous art practice in which he assembles a unique visual language that cannot be categorized by any isms. His artistic practice appears uncompromising and incompliant, including sculptures, photography, body art and happenings, which all in their eclectic manner intend to irritate and fool the viewer. Since his mid-20s, at the end of the 60s, the artist began photographing himself and decided to turn his own person into the protagonist of his creations because all perceptions are bound to subjective experiences. Thus, he not only remains faithful to his investigations on identity, the physical body, emotions, longings, and illusions but also explores the social and ontological side of being in the world.

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In his experimental approach, Lüthi expands the traditional conventions of self-portraiture. He elevates it to a grand gesture and creates projection spaces for emotional stimulations while putting them slightly off through humorous details, everyday curiosities, or proximity to kitsch. Finally, with all self-depictions, the artist refers to nothing less than the "conditio humana", asking, are we unique or are we not?

Urs Lüthi used to hold a chair at the Kunsthochschule Kassel. Among many other national and international exhibitions, he participated at documenta VI in Kassel in 1977, and represented Switzerland at the Venice Biennale in 2001. His work is in numerous public and private collections including Centre Pompidou, Paris, France; moma New York, US; SFMOMA, San Francisco, US; Fondazione Brodbeck, Catania, Italy; Museum Arte Moderna Roma, Rome, Italy; Museum Dell’ Novencento, Milan, Italy; Kunstmuseum Luzern, Lucerne, Switzerland; Kunstmuseum Bern, Switzerland; mamco, Geneva, Switzerland; Kunsthaus Aarau, Switzerland; Kunstmuseum Zürich, Switzerland; Kunsthaus Glarus, Switzerland; Museum Chur, Switzerland; Musée Rath Genève, Geneva, Switzerland; Museum Winterthur, Switzerland; Museum Stuttgart, Germany; Kunstmuseum Hamburg, Germany; Sammlung Falckenberg, Hamburg, Germany; Museum Kassel, Kassel Germany; and others.

Text courtesy Galerie Urs Meile.

Urs Lüthi
featured artworks

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You are not the only one who is lonely 4 (Selfportrait) by Urs Lüthi contemporary artwork photography, print
Urs Lüthi You are not the only one who is lonely 4 (Selfportrait), 1974–2014 Ultrachrome pigment print on Hahnemuhle
77 x 58 cm
Galerie Tanit Request Price & Availability
Sunset III (Selfportrait) by Urs Lüthi contemporary artwork painting
Urs Lüthi Sunset III (Selfportrait), 2020–2023 Acrylic on canvas
200 x 300 cm
Galerie Tanit Request Price & Availability
Shame (Selfportrait) by Urs Lüthi contemporary artwork print
Urs Lüthi Shame (Selfportrait), 2020–2021 Ultrachrome Pritn on Hahnemuhle
62 x 44 cm (incl frame)
Galerie Tanit Request Price & Availability
About Gaps & Bases by Urs Lüthi contemporary artwork sculpture
Urs Lüthi About Gaps & Bases, 2019 Painted metal and silicon
180 x 80 x 45 cm
Galerie Urs Meile Request Price & Availability
Selfportrait (TRANSMISSION ERROR III / Nr. 1) by Urs Lüthi contemporary artwork sculpture, print
Urs Lüthi Selfportrait (TRANSMISSION ERROR III / Nr. 1), 2022 Ultrachrome print with plexiglass and aluminum unique work
200 x 149 x 5 cm
Galerie Urs Meile Request Price & Availability
Selfportrait (HOW TO GET COMFORTABLE IN AN UNCOMFORTABLE WORLD I) by Urs Lüthi contemporary artwork sculpture
Urs Lüthi Selfportrait (HOW TO GET COMFORTABLE IN AN UNCOMFORTABLE WORLD I), 2021–2022 Mixed media in 2 parts, unique work
128 x 88 x 65 cm
Galerie Urs Meile Request Price & Availability
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Urs Lüthi
upcoming & recent
exhibitions

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Represented by these
Ocula Member Galleries

Galerie Tanit contemporary art gallery in Munich, Germany
Galerie Tanit Beirut, Munich
Galerie Urs Meile contemporary art gallery in Beijing, China
Galerie Urs Meile Beijing, Lucerne, Zurich
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