Guido Nussbaum was born in Muri, Aargau, in 1948. Basel has been his adoptive home since 1982. His work stands out for a reflexive approach that examines the codes of art with humour and levity, raising a range of questions about artistic practices and the art market.
He began his training in 1964 at the Lucerne School of Arts and Crafts, before studying photography and sculpture in Zurich and Lucerne respectively.
Awarded the Swiss federal grant in 1986 and the prestigious Grand Prix suisse d’art / Prix Meret Oppenheim in 2011, Guido Nussbaum attracted attention very early with his Manöggeln, figures made of wood and sheet metal. Over time, he diversified his techniques, producing photographs, installations, and audio and video works, as well as creating public art commissions integrated into architecture. Because he draws from many art references, he calls himself a “collaborator of European cultural history”. Driven by the desire to produce a clear language, Nussbaum develops a style that is intelligible, though not without provocation: “It is within this field of tension—between suggestion and provocation—that I wish to situate my work.”
Outside of his public art projects, two broad motifs emerge from his work: the figure—which depicts himself, sometimes alongside his wife Patricia—and, around the late 1980s, the globe, embodying the world’s problems through a virtuoso painting exercise. Guido Nussbaum has presented solo exhibitions at the Aargauer Kunsthaus (1997) and the Kunstraum Baden (2014), and has participated in international group shows in Munich (1994) and at New York’s MoMA PS1 (2006).
He began his training in 1964 at the Lucerne School of Arts and Crafts, before studying photography and sculpture in Zurich and Lucerne respectively.
Awarded the Swiss federal grant in 1986 and the prestigious Grand Prix suisse d’art / Prix Meret Oppenheim in 2011, Guido Nussbaum attracted attention very early with his Manöggeln, figures made of wood and sheet metal. Over time, he diversified his techniques, producing photographs, installations, and audio and video works, as well as creating public art commissions integrated into architecture. Because he draws from many art references, he calls himself a “collaborator of European cultural history”. Driven by the desire to produce a clear language, Nussbaum develops a style that is intelligible, though not without provocation: “It is within this field of tension—between suggestion and provocation—that I wish to situate my work.”
Outside of his public art projects, two broad motifs emerge from his work: the figure—which depicts himself, sometimes alongside his wife Patricia—and, around the late 1980s, the globe, embodying the world’s problems through a virtuoso painting exercise. Guido Nussbaum has presented solo exhibitions at the Aargauer Kunsthaus (1997) and the Kunstraum Baden (2014), and has participated in international group shows in Munich (1994) and at New York’s MoMA PS1 (2006).
