Tobias Madison (born 1985) is a

Swiss art Switzerland lies at the crossroads of several major European cultures. Three of the continent's major languages, German, French and Italian, are national languages of Switzerland, along with Romansh, spoken by a small minority. Therefore ...

ist, known for his

multidisciplinary An academic discipline or academic field is a subdivision of knowledge that is taught and researched at the college or university level. Disciplines are defined (in part) and recognized by the academic journals in which research is published, ...

conceptual art,

moving image A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

work, and

performance art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

. His work frequently uses video, photography, text and installation to probe the economy of interpersonal relations in mediated realities. Madison currently lives and works in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Biography

Tobias Madison was born in 1985 in

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

, Switzerland. In 2011 he received a B.F.A. degree from

Zurich University of the Arts Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK, ) has approximately 2,500 students, which makes it the largest arts university in Switzerland. The university was established in 2007, following the merger between Zurich's School of Art and Design (HGKZ) and ...

(ZHDK). Since 2015, he has taught in the graduate program (work.master) of the

Geneva University of Art and Design Geneva University of Art and Design (HEAD) () is a European art and design school founded in 2006, and belonging to the network of the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Western Switzerland. History HEAD was formed in 2006 from the mer ...

(Haute école d'art et de design or HEAD).

Career

Madison's work has had

solo exhibition A solo show or solo exhibition is an art exhibition, exhibition of the work of only one artist. Rather than a group of artists who collaborate to form an exhibition. The artwork may be paintings, drawings, etchings, collage, sculpture, or photogr ...

s at the Swiss Institute (2010) in

Haus Konstruktiv Haus Konstruktiv (English: ), or Museum Haus Konstruktiv, is an arts foundation founded by private individuals in 1986 in Zürich, Switzerland. From 1987 to spring 2001, it was located at Seefeldstrasse 317 in the outer Seefeld area of Zurich and ...

(2010) in Zurich, Kunstverein Munich (2010),

Kunsthalle Zürich The Kunsthalle Zürich is a kunsthalle (a contemporary art exhibition centre) in Zürich, Switzerland. Founded in 1985, it is located on Limmatstrasse, near the city centre. A number of temporary exhibitions are organized each year. Directors * ...

(2013), the Power Station in Dallas (with Emanuel Rossetti and Stefan Tcherepnin, 2013),

Kestnergesellschaft Kestner Gesellschaft (Kestner Society) is an art institution in Hanover, Germany, founded in 1916 to promote the arts. Its founders included the painter Wilhelm von Debschitz (1871–1948). The association blossomed under the management of and ...

(2016) in

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

, Germany, and

MoMA PS1 MoMA PS1 is a contemporary art institution at 2201 Jackson Avenue in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens in New York City, United States. In addition to its exhibitions, the institution organizes the Sunday Sessions performance series, th ...

in New York (with Matthew Lutz-Kinoy, 2016). His work is in many museum collections including the

Kunsthaus Zurich Kunsthaus ( German meaning "art house") may refer to: * Kunsthaus case, 1980s political scandal in Liechtenstein *Kunsthaus Graz * Kunsthaus Tacheles * KunstHausWien * Kunsthaus Zürich See also * Art gallery * Kunsthalle A kunsthalle () is a f ...

, the

Carnegie Museum of Art The Carnegie Museum of Art is an art museum in the Oakland (Pittsburgh), Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The museum was originally known as the Department of Fine Arts, Carnegie Institute and was formerly located ...

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, and the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

(MoMA) in New York City.

New Jerseyy

Madison co-founded the exhibition space ''New Jerseyy'' in

in 2008, together with curator Daniel Baumann, artist Emanuel Rossetti, and graphic designer Dan Solbach. ''New Jerseyy's'' program was focused both on a local and an international audience and presented solo exhibitions of

Carissa Rodriguez Carissa Rodriguez (born 1970) is an American artist who lives and works in New York City. Artistic practice Rodriguez' work investigates the relationship of the material and social conditions through which art is produced, reproduced, and consum ...

, DAS INSTITUT ( Kerstin Brätsch and Adele Roder), Ei Arakawa,

Anne Imhof Anne Imhof (born 1978 in Giessen, Germany) is a German visual artist, choreographer, and performance artist who lives and works between Frankfurt and Paris. She is best known for her endurance art, although she cites painting as central to her pr ...

, Ida Ekblad, and Stefan Tcherepnin. Experimental exhibition formats for ''New Jerseyy'' included a 2008 temporary boxing gym with

John Armleder John Armleder (born 1948) is a Swiss performance artist, painter, sculptor, critic, and curator. His work is based on his involvement with Fluxus in the 1960s and 1970s, when he created performance art pieces, installations, and collective art act ...

and his student collective Team 404 and a 2009 MFA degree thesis show of students of the Graphic Design Department of the Yale University School of Art.

Collaborations

In 2012, Madison co-curated an exhibition with Emanuel Rossetti at the

Kunsthalle Bern The Kunsthalle Bern is a ''Kunsthalle'' (art exposition hall) on the Helvetiaplatz in Bern, Switzerland. It was built in 1917–1918 by the Kunsthalle Bern Association and opened on October 5, 1918. Since then, it has been the site of numerous ex ...

that focused on collaborative practices and artistic networks that are spun between

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, and

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. The French art-historian Mélanie Mermod curated the section ''APN Research'' あぷん with images by the media collective Jikken Kōbō (experimental workshop) that were published weekly between 1953 and 1954 in the Asahi Graph (Japanese: アサヒグラフ Asahi Gurafu). In 2013, Madison collaborated with artist Emanuel Rossetti and artist and composer Stefan Tcherepnin on the exhibition ''Drip Event'' at the

Power Station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electr ...

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

. The project is documented in the Solar Lice LP, which was recorded at

ISSUE Project Room ISSUE Project Room (often shortened to ISSUE) is a music venue in Brooklyn, New York, founded in 2003 by Suzanne Fiol. ISSUE Project room owns a theatre in 110 Livingston Street in Downtown Brooklyn. The venue supports a wide variety of contempo ...

. In 2015, Madison developed an adaptation of Shuji Terayama's 1967 play La ''Marie-Vison'' together with artist Matthew Lutz-Kinoy and theater director Barbara Weber for the Kunsthalle Zurich. In 2016 the play was further developed by Madison and Lutz-Kinoy for a commission by

, titled ''Rotten Wood, the Dripping Word: Shuji Terayama's Kengawa No Mari''.

Film

In 2016, Madison produced a remake of Shuji Terayama's 1971 film '' Emperor Tomato Ketchup'', with a group of kindergarteners from

Hannover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

, Germany. The resulting film, ''Das Blut, Im Fruchtfleisch Gerinnend Beim Birnenbiss'' (2016), is an exploration of the child's mind and the projections that it is exposed to. In 2018, Madison shot ''O Vermelho do Meio-Dia'' in

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

, Brazil with members of the Queer activist group MEXA in the months leading up to the election of far-right president

Jair Bolsonaro Jair Messias Bolsonaro (; born 21 March 1955) is a Brazilian politician and former military officer who served as the 38th president of Brazil from 2019 to 2023. He previously served as a member of Brazil's Chamber of Deputies (Brazil), Chamb ...

. The film premiered in November 2018 at the Biennale d'Image en Mouvement in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

. After its premiere Madison pulled the film from other festivals to continue to work on it.

Bibliography

*Madison, Tobias (2015). ''NO; NO; H E P''. Zurich: JRP Ringier. *Madison, Tobias; Rossetti, Emanuel; Tcherepnin, Stefan (2014). ''Solar Lice''. Dallas: The Power Station. *Madison, Tobias (2011). ''Drawings''. Zurich: 978-3-906011.ch.

References

External links

Tobias Madison
on ContemporaryArtDaily.com
Tobias Madison
on ArtNet.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Madison, Tobias 1985 births Living people Artists from Basel-Stadt Swiss contemporary artists Zurich University of the Arts alumni Academic staff of Geneva University of Art and Design