MIRKO BASELGIA

Mirko Baselgia (* 1982, lives and works in the Swiss mountains) graduated from the Zurich School of Art with a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Visual Arts. Amongst other awards, he has been awarded the Kiefer Hablitzel Scholarship (2012) and the Manor Cultural Prize (Chur, 2013). Recent solo exhibitions include Pardis (Curzoin) at Bellelay Abbey (2018), )in(out) till sundown at Kunst(Zeug)Haus in Rapperswil-Jona (2021), materia viva at Galerie Urs Meile in Lucerne and inner desert at museumbickel in Walenstadt (2022) as well as INTERVENZIUN AVIEUL / Intervention Biene at KOENIGmuseum in Landshut and structura / sistem at Galerie Urs Meile in Ardez (2023). His works are regularly featured in group exhibitions in Switzerland and abroad and found in numerous public and private collections, such as the MUDAC in Lausanne, the Kunstmuseum Olten, the Bündner Kunstmuseum in Chur, the Muzeum Susch, the Swiss National Bank, the Credit Suisse Collection, the Zürcher Kantonalbank, the Roche Art Collection and the Burger Collection.

“The previous classification of the arts no longer exists: the artist of the future should have to work with a team of specialists in a development laboratory.”
(Charlotte Posenenske, “Statements”, in: Art International, vol. XII/5, May 1968)

Mirko Baselgia uses the nature of his living and working environment as a source for his artistic practice and also for the materials that he uses. His responsibly created works are part of a local, closed ecosystem, which demonstrate the integration of man into a larger whole. Regionality and sustainability also play an important role in the artist’s work. Collecting is a practice that is at the centre of the studio’s activities. It is an act that allows to become aware of the origin of materials, products and resources, to come into direct contact with them and to perceive their properties with all the senses while exploring their full potential. The artist’s studio is like a laboratory where, thanks to constant dialogue with experts, materials and substances are experimented with and processes and structures are analysed to create works that are an abstraction of the laws of nature that govern our lives.

Observing, understanding and reshaping structures and systems, whether material or abstract, visible or hidden, that characterise the natural world and society, form a central aspect of Mirko Baselgia’s artistic practice. The in-depth study of organisms, materials, processes and physical or conceptual architectures allow him to depict the diversity and complexity of our reality and to explore the mechanisms underlying the interdependencies and tensions between the various entities that inhabit the earth. In his artistic exploration, he questions his biography, his existence and the place he wants to occupy in the world, imagining new ways of living and interacting with all forms of life and the environment around us. As an extension of these concerns, Baselgia’s fascination with the intelligence and organisation of the plant and animal kingdoms, the recurring themes of skin and growth, as well as his desire to make structures visible and to reflect on materiality and corporeality are also at the core of his work.