-
Mauren Brodbeck, a Swiss multisensory artist and singer-songwriter, uses visual and auditory elements to create startling reinterpretations of common objects and experiences. Her multidimensional works invite her audience to step outside their safe and familiar realities and reconsider their relationships with the people and environments around them.
Brodbeck's arts education began at the Collège de Saussure in Geneva, where she focused on the visual arts-drawing, painting, photography, sculpture, and videography. After graduation, she moved to the Pacific West Coast for several years, first attending the Vancouver Film School in Canada for a diploma in film production, and then going on to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Southern California.
As a student at ArtCenter, she gained international attention when her work was selected for inclusion in the inaugural "reGeneration, 50 Photographers of Tomorrow" global travelling exhibition, curated by a committee from the Musée de l'Elysée in Lausanne, Switzerland. The exposure she received led to a solo exhibition with the J.J. Heckenhauer gallery, ongoing representation with the Lumas Editions Gallery, and inclusion in a number of Art Fairs, including Photo Miami, Paris Photo, and the Berliner Liste.
Following these successes, she decided to expand into multisensory works and enrolled in the post graduate program at Geneva Haute École d'Arts et de Design "Immédiat" to study interactive arts and new media. Her recent multisensory productions include "Barenaked," a solo show at the Auer Photo Foundation, and "Mood Motel," an interactive, automated installation at the Andata Ritorno Laboratory for Contemporary Art. In 2014, Drago Publishing released a 10 year retrospective of her work, Mauren Brodbeck, Oeuvres Photographiques/Photographic Works: 2004-2014. Brodbeck's pieces can be found in a number of private, public, and museum collections.
Brodbeck's current works focus on the concepts of identity, authenticity and territory, exploring the gap between reality and fantasy and reinterpreting common experiences to reshape our stories and emotions. She is also the creator of Raw and Radical, a project focused on inspiring, connecting, and supporting women artists including a series of podcasts. When not immersed in her artistic pursuits, she writes and spends time with her family at their home in Geneva.
Mauren Brodbeck in her studio in Geneva
-
STATEMENT
Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve had the sense that I was not fully participating in this reality, but was instead part of an imaginary world and immersed in the magic of the invisible energies around us. I felt like I was caught between being fully present in the world and looking in from the outside, simply observing my surroundings, society, and how people behave. This contrast between belonging and not belonging fueled my fascination with the small details of our lives – the stories we tell ourselves and others, our dreams, how we express our emotions and individuality, our experience of noise, and the visual tableaus found throughout our days.
Now, as an artist, I use artistic mediums to reinterpret and translate those untouchable, non-sensory experiences into a tangible form. As a photographer, I began by playing with collage, lab chemicals, and colours, and now I also incorporate edited video and sound to create immersive, multisensory experiences that explore the gap between what we perceive as reality and our fantasies.
My process is to begin with raw materials, such as photographic images or recorded sounds, and use a variety of techniques to alter and transform them, such as erasing, layering, multiplying, sampling, coloring, and reproduction. I often create multiple versions of the same work, reusing and repurposing imagery with both the historical practice of creating multiple reproductions of that current reality and the current multiplicity of digital photographs in mind. Through this process of image and sound sampling, timeline manipulation, and performative collage, I transmute my original subject matter into the finished piece.
I explore the relationship between raw and digital mediums in my work because I am fascinated by how far we can push and repurpose these mediums, how the line between the two becomes increasingly blurred and questionable, and how we deal with this dichotomy in our own lives. All of my work plays with the concept of duality – pushing the boundaries between corporeal and immaterial, creation and deconstruction, tangible versus digital, and the contrast of macrocosm to microcosm.
I also bring a strong feminine identity to my artistic work. I am at once a little girl, a young woman, a mother, a warrior, and an enchantress, and I observe and interpret reality through these archetypes. As a result, I find poetry and beauty in even the most ordinary of circumstances. That consciousness is expressed through both my artistic aesthetic and the techniques I use to create each piece or experience.
I believe that the conflict between our deepest, innermost truths and desires and the pressure to conform to society’s rules and expectations can become a catalyst for discovering and expressing our true individuality and potential. Through my art, I offer an alternative reality, disrupting our “normal” and opening the doors to new possibilities, new dialogues, and a new understanding of ourselves.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
« Unpredictable Beauty / Imprévisible Beauté », Ports Francs et Entrepôts de Genève SA, 13.05.22-16.09.22
« Anima » Musée des Beaux-Arts Le Locle, Switzerland, 08.05.21-26.09.21
« Convolutions » Krisal Galerie, Carouge, Geneva, 03.09.20-07.10.20
« Erasure » Gallery J.J. Heckenhauer, Münich, 11.04.19-01.06.19
« Mood Motel », Andata Ritorno Laboratory for Contemporary Art, Geneva 17.03.16 - 24.04.16
« Exploration of a Sonic Landscape », Paris Photo Off, Salon H, Paris, 14.11.15 - 15.11.15
« Barenaked » Auer Photo Foundation, Hermance, 22.01.15 – 27.02.15
« Shame & Vulnerability » Tafkaj Art Gallery, Geneva 28.11.12 – 31.05.13
« Seven Wonders » Espace R - 50 JPG - Centre de la Photographie, Geneva 03.06.10 - 31.07.10
« I have to call Cathy Kim » Gallery Helmut Hartmann, Vienna, 04.11.08 – 06.11.08
« New Work, NW» Espace R, Geneva 07.10.08 – 07.11.08
« Urbanscape, Cityscape and Chocolate » Gallery Heckenhauer, Berlin, 24.03.07 – 27.04.07
EDUCATION
Post Graduate Studies in new media and interactive media
HEAD Haute école d'art et de design, Geneva, Switzerland, 2005-2008
Bachelor in Fine Art, photography and imaging
ACCD Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA, 2001-2004
Certificate in production
VFS Vancouver Film School, Vancouver, BC, 1995
Maturité artistique en arts visuels et moderne
Collège de Saussure, Geneva, Switzerland, 1989-1993
PERFORMANCES
« Mood Motel » special guest Love Motel, 25 minutes, Andata Ritorno Laboratory for Contemporary Art, 2016
« Barenaked » 30 minutes, Auer Photo Foundation, Hermance, 2015
« Shame » 90 minutes, Design Days 2013, Sicli, Geneva, 2013
« Shame » 22 minutes, Bal des Créateurs, Geneva, 2013TALKS & CONFERENCES
« Explorations Digitales», conference on my artistic pratice, Photo Genève, 01.05.2021
« Women’s Role and Place in Art», round table discussion, Photo Kyiv, 15.12.2020
« Financialization and Dematerialization», organised by Ifage at Mamco Geneva, 08.10.2020
« Franchement Femmes» Auer Photo Foundation, Hermance, 2020
« The Missing Motel » avec Pauline Marchetti, Jacques Ferrier et Philippe Simay de Sensual City Studio Paris, Sicli Genève, 19.04.16
« Franchement Femmes» Auer Photo Foundation, Hermance, 2015
« Horyou TV » Horyou, Fonction : Cinéma, Geneva, 2015
« FuckUp Nights » Lausanne, 2015
« Event concept and design » CREA, Geneva, 2012
« Sonic branding » University of Geneva, Geneva, 2010COLLECTIVE EXHIBITIONS (SELECTED)
Parallel Editions Art Fair, Galerie J.J. Heckenhauer, Vienna, 12.05.22-15.05.22
« Water Paintings »,Galerie Analix Forever, Geneva, 12.11.21-02.02.22
« ... Is the New Punk », Galerie Analix Forever, Geneva, 03.05.21-18.08.21
« Women’s Eye » exhibition, Photo Kyiv International Photography Fair, Kiev, December 2nd-20th, 2020
Paperpositions Münich Art Fair, J.J. Heckenhauer, Münich, October 22nd-25th, 2020
« Matière Hybride », Espace Ruine, Visarte Genève, 07.10.20-11.10.20
Paperpositions Berlin Art Fair, J.J. Heckenhauer, Münich, September 10th-13th, 2020
« Osmoscosmos », Centre de la photographie, Geneva, 50 jpp 2019, 19.06.19.25.08.19
« Arbres et Forêts » Boléro, Versoix, The Auer Photo Foundation Art Collection, 25.05.19-08.08.19
« EXIST… an Ode to Ballet » curated by Ramón Rik Singley II, One Art Space Gallery, New York, NY, 15-22.12.19
Paperpositions Münich Art Fair, October 18.10.18-21.10.18
« Les trésors de la Fondation Auer Ory de 1839 à nos jours » Le Bolero, Versoix, Auer Photo Foundation, 24.04.15 - 07.06.15
Fototropia, Geografica, Guatemala, 07.07.14
« Regarde ! des enfants » Auer Photo Foundation, BAC Le Commun, Geneva, 04.10.13 – 23.11.13
« Perfect Day » Lumas Editition Gallery, Berlin, 12.09.13 – 13.10.13
« Shame » performance et wallpaper, Design Days 2013, Sicli, Geneva, 26.09.13 et 26.09.13 – 29.09.13
040 Festival für Fotografie in der Gegenwatskunst, Frappant E.V. Gallery, Hamburg, 12.06.13 – 16.06.13
Fototropia, Geografica, Guatemala, 30.05.13 – 30.06.13
« Mouvances, Les tribulations de la photographie dans le monde de l’art de 1888 à nos jours » Auer Photo Foundation, Geneva, 11.10.12-24.11.12
Chic Art Fair, Art City Gallery, Paris, 22.10.10 – 25.10.10
« Lux Metropolis » Art City Gallery, Paris, 0.09.10 – 21.10.10
« Sweet People » Factory gallery & Compactspace gallery, Los Angeles, USA 09.09.10 – 16.10.10
« Urbanscapes » LAS gallery & Espace Vertical, Gare de l’Aiguille du Midi, Chamonix, 28.12.09 – 04.02.10
Fotofestival Mannheim Ludwigshafen Heidelber, vvork exhibit, Mannheim, 05.09.09 – 25.10.09
Festival International de l'image environnementale, Arles, 07.07.09 – 12.07.09
« ReGeneration, 50 photographers of Tomorrow » Albin OKuhn Library et Gallery, College Park, MD, 13.04.09 – 07.06.09
« ReGeneration, 50 photographers of Tomorrow » Hoffman Gallery, Lewis and Clark College, Portland, OR, 22.01.09 – 15.03.09
« Repeat Until » Compactspace la, Los Angeles, CA, 24.01.09 – 10.03.09
F/Stop International Photography Festival, Leipzig, 16.07.08 – 20.06.08
« Mutations » Festival Voies Off, Arles, 08.07.08 – 12.07.08
« Collective » Galerie Boyer-Labarre, Geneva, 24.01.09 – 29.02.08
Photo Miami, gallery Heckenhauer, Berlin, 06.12.08 – 10.12.08
Paris Photo, gallery Heckenhauer,Berlin, 15.11.07 – 18.11.07
Berliner Liste, gallery Heckenhauer, Berlin, 30.09.07 – 03.10.07
« Real and Constructed Places », Gallery Heckenhauer, Berlin, 07.06.07 – 14.07.07
« Reality Strikes Back » Universal Cube, Postgraduate HEAD, Leipzig, 28.04.07 – 02.06.07
« Metric » Installation interactive, Mapping Vijing Festival, BAC, Geneva 26.04.07 – 13.05.07
Art Cologne, gallery Heckenhauer, Cologne, 18.04.07 – 22.04.07
« Future View » Art & Vision Gallery, Geneva, 22.03.07 - 05.05.2007
« ReGeneration, 50 photographers of Tomorrow » Alyce de Roulet Williamson Gallery, Pasadena, CA, 04.02.07 – 22.04-07
« ReGeneration, 50 photographers of Tomorrow » Pingyao Int. Photography Festival, China, 16.09.06 – 22.09.06
« ReGeneration, 50 photographers of Tomorrow » Art Institute of Boston, Boston, USA, 04.09.06 – 05.11
« 7 fotographers Sbf|Pps|Fps » Casa Cavalier Pellanda, Biasca, 18.06.06 – 30.07.06
Nu Art, Art Amsterdam KunstRAI, Lumas edition gallery, Amsterdam, 03.05.06 – 07.05.06
« ReGeneration, 50 photographers of Tomorrow » Aperture Fondation, New York, NY, 06.04.06 – 22.06.06
« First Sight » Lumas Editions galerie, Berlin, 26.11.05 – 28.02.06
« ReGeneration, 50 photographers of Tomorrow » Galerie Carla Sozzani, Milan, 10.11.05 – 11.12.05
« ReGeneration, 50 photographers of Tomorrow » Musée de l’Elysée, Lausanne, 25.06.05 – 31.10.05
« Radio Berlin » public art installation, Alexander Platz, Berlin, fall 2003INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVALS (SELECTED)
Canneslions International Advertising Festival, Film « Tekna », 2009, Cannes
Houston International Film Festival, Film « Plastik », 2008, Houston, TX
Intercom, The International Communications Film & Video Competition, Film « Plastik », 2008 Chicago, IL
Cristalli Di Locarno, Film « Tekna », 2009, Locarno
The Flagstaff International Film Festival, Film « Plastik », 2008, Flagstaff, AZ
Spiez Film Festival, Swiss Panorama, Film « Plastik », Best Swiss Film Awards, 2008, Spiez, Switzerland
Ankara International Film Festival, Film « Plastik », 2008, Ankara
Message to Man St. Petersburg International Film Festival, Film « Plastik », 2008, St.Peterburg
Chichester Film Festival, Film « Plastik », 2008, Chichester
Leeds International Film Festival, Film « Plastik », 2008, Leeds
Boston Film Festival, Film « Plastik », 2007, Boston, MA
Figuera Da Foz International Film Festival, Film « Plastik », Figuera Da Foz, 2008, Portugal
Cinema Tout Ecran,Geneva IFF, Film « Plastik », 2007, Geneva
Raindance Film Showcase, Film « Plastik », 2009, London
Filmmakers Exclusive Networking Night, Film « Plastik », 2008, LondonAWARDS
London International Creative Competition Award 2013, Creative Award Performance «Shame»
Deutsche Design Prize 2012, nomination
Grand Prix Romand de la Création 2011, Best digital campaign - interactive photography, “Plus qu’une Mission” Geneva state police
ED Award 2010, European Design Award, Silver Award, Signs & Displays, Ecole des Petites-Fontaines, Geneva
Grand Prix Romand de la Création 2009, Graphic Design / Signage, Ecole des Petites-Fontaines, Geneva
Regional Design Annual 2007, New York City, Key: New York Times Real Estate Magazine, nov/dec 2007, Art photography
Color Awards 2007, nomination Fine Art category
2002 Adobe Achievement Awards, Photography Section, Honorable mention
Houston Int. Film Festival 1999, Silver Award, Educational TV & Film Commercial category, director and producer advertising film «Tekna»
Flagstaff Int. Film Festival 1998, Bronze Award, Ind. Experimental Film and Video Awards, writer and director « Plastik»
Spiez Film Festival 1998, Best Film Award, short film « Plastik » -
PUBLICATIONS
"Osmoscosmos", exhibition catalogue, Centre de la Photographie Genève, 2019
"Livre d'A/R", catalogue, Andata Ritorno laboratory of contemporary art Geneva, 2018
"Mauren Brodbeck, Oeuvres Photographiques / Photographic Works, 2004-2014", Drago Publishings, 2014
“Both Sides of Sunset: Photographing Los Angeles“, Metropolis Books 2015, Edited by Jane Brown, Marla Hamburg Kennedy. Forword by Ed Ruscha. Introduction by David L. Ulin
“Mouvances, les tribulations de la photographie dans le monde de l'art de 1888 à nos jours“, Exhibition Catalogue published by The Auer Photo Foundation, 2012, Forword by Caeser Menz
“Mauren Brodbeck Carnet n° 9“, The Auer Photo Foundation, 2015
"Trésors de la Fondation Auer Ory pour la photographie", Exhibition catalogue published by the Auer Photo Foundation, 2015
“Collecting Fine Art Photography“, volume 1’ teNeues, 2008
Portraits de Manufacture, Jeager-LeCoultre, 2006
“7 fotografi SBf|PpS|FpS fra tradizione e contemporaneità“, Casa Cavlier Pellanda, exhibition catalogue, 2006
“reGeneration 50 photographers of tomorrow“, Thames & Hudson, 2005 (french edition) and Aperture, 2006 (english edition), by William A. Ewing, Nathalie Herschdorfer & Jean-Christophe Blaser
PRESS
« Chez Mauren Brodbeck, le numérique, la nature et l'invisible dialoguent », Magazine T Le Temps, 19.09.21
« Being a Woman and a Mother in today's Art World » The Artist Entrepreneur Podcast, April 2021
« On Self-Confidence, Living Outside the Norm & Claiming the Life We Want » Girl, Get a Real Job Podcast, Women of the Wick, March 2021
« Mauren Brodbeck » Photo Kyiv Podcast for Women's Eye exhibition, December, 2020
« Bas Les Masques » Tout l'Immobilier, December 14th, 2020
« Extra Ordinary People, 15 minutes with Mauren Brodbeck » My Big Geneva, October 5th, 2020
« Multisensory Artist + Podcaster Mauren Brodbeck » The Wise Fool Podcast, 2020
« 5 Questions with Mauren Brodbeck » Angela Fraleight's Blog, October 25th, 2019
« Magnétique » RTS Radio Télévision Suisse, Voices of Eris, 2018
« swissphotographers Interviews Mauren Brodbeck » swissphotographers, 2017
« Mauren Brodbeck : the woman who felt to earth » Drago International Publishing House of Contemporary Art, by Jack Solloway, November 30th, 2017
« Portrait, Anti-Portrait » Camera Magazine n° 19, Champ Libre by Jean-Marie Schaeffer, September - November 2017
« Mauren Brodbeck et l'apprentissage de l'énigme - entretien avec l'artiste » Le Littéraire, May 14th, 2016
« Architecture Erased : Mauren Brodbeck’s urbanscapes » Socks, Mai 4th, 2016
« Mood Motel » Juste Magazine, Paris, Mai 2nd, 2016
« Mauren Brodbeck, Dialogue Fécond » Accrochage, Switzerland, April 2016
« En Mode Motel » Boléro, Switzerland, March 30th, 2016
« Mauren Brodbeck Allez et Retour » GoOut Magazine, Geneva, March 2016
« Ouvrez l'oeil » Côte Magazine, Geneva, March 2016
« Genève: Mauren Brodbeck, Mood Motel » L'Oeil de la Photographie / The Eye of Photography, March 28th, 2016
« Les combinatoires de Mauren Brodbeck » De l'art helvétique contemporain, les Blogs, 24 heures, Switzerland, March 16th, 2016
« Mood Motel de Mauren Brodbeck » Trajectoire Magazine, Geneva March 12th, 2016
« Exploration of a Sonic Landscape » Juste Magazine, Paris, November 2015
« Mauren Brodbeck » Juste Magazine, Paris, June 2015
« Mauren Brodbeck Une expo et un livre » Magazine Espaces Contemporains, March-April 2015
« Bienvenue dans le monde de Mauren Brodbeck » Tribune de Genève Rive-Lac, February 9th, 2015
« Mauren Brodbeck: artist, actress, singer, performer » Horyou blog, February 5th, 2015
« Un monde secret » exposition, Tribune de Genève, January 24th-25th, 2015
« Mauren Brodbeck: Barenaked» Horyou blog, January 23rd, 2015
« Inspire, get lost, dream and shine » My Big Geneva online magazine, January 18th, 2015
« Mauren Brodbeck présente Barenaked » Pixfan online magazine, January 14th, 2015
« 3DEco» TV show - Léman Bleu TV, 10.09.2014
« Editor’s pick : Mauren Brodbeck » Darwin Magazine, January 2014
« Laboratoire d’idées » interview Elle Suisse, Octobre 2013
« Maison de Création » portrait de Mauren Brodbeck et Oliver Rubli, Magazine Espaces Contemporains, septembre 2013
« La Banque Piguet Galland fait peau neuve » Prestige Immobilier, summer 2013
« Une banque qui sent le coton et le mystère » Le Temps, June 1st, 2013
« Oliver Rubli et Mauren Brodbeck Le design sonore haute-couture » DADI magazine spring-summer 2013
« Urbanscape and Cityscape Photo Series by Mauren Brodbeck » Dwell, May 15ht, 2013
« Color-block building photographs by Mauren Brodbeck » Feature Shoot, May 13th, 2013
« Exposition Shame & Vulnerability » Actu Photo, 20.11.12
« AS Artiste Mauren Brodbeck » Portrait AS Architecture Suisse, November 2011
« Espace R, Mauren Brodbeck » Côte Magazine, July-August 2010
« Mauren Brodbeck jusqu’au 22 mai 2010 Sweet People SynopsisM Lausanne » Ars Brevis Vita Longa, May 2010
« Exposition Contemporaine de Mauren Brodbeck - Seven Wonders » Les Poulettes ä Genève, May 17th, 2010
« Quartier Libre » Télévision Léman Bleu, 17.03.09
« Mauren Brodbeck » interview sur l’exposition « New Work, NW » The Avenue TV, October 2008
« Montre-moi ton bâtiment, je te dirai qui tu es... » Côte Magazine, September/October 2008
« Mauren Brodbeck: Cityscape, Urbanscape and Chocolate » Focus Fine Art Photography Magazine, USA, August 2007
« 7 fotographers Sbf|Pps|Fps » reportage d’exposition, Telegiornale TSI, 2006
« Regards Frais » magazine Le Monde 2 France, 15.10.05
« reGénération » quotidien La Gazette No 167, Lausanne, 31.08.05
« Pour moi, ça démarre » Portrait Option Magazine, April 1999
« Drôle de Dames » Edelweiss Magazine N° 32, April 1999
« Mauren Brodbeck » Taxi Vancouver Magazine, 1998
« Plastik » Journal de Genève et Gazette de Lausanne, Section Cinéma, 15.02.98
« Plastik » Tribune de Genève, section Culture et Société, 26.11.98
« Mauren Brodbeck » Ikono TV, 2006
« Mauren Brodbeck » Unquote TV, CUTV channel 54 USA, 2005
« Mauren Brodbeck » Short TV, 1998