Youri Messen-Jaschin is an artist of Latvian origin, born in

Arosa Arosa is a List of towns in Switzerland, town and a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Plessur Region in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. It is both a summer and a winter tourist resort. On 1 January 2013, the former mu ...

, Switzerland, in 1941. He often combines oils and gouaches. His favourite colors are: strong reds, yellows, greens, and blue. He also works in

body painting Body painting is a form of body art where artwork is painted directly onto the human skin. Unlike tattoos and other forms of body art, body painting is temporary, lasting several hours or sometimes up to a few weeks (in the case of mehndi or ...

, exhibiting his works in nightclubs. He created three stamps in optical art for

Swiss Post Swiss Post Ltd ( ; ; ; ) is the national Mail, postal service of Switzerland. A public company owned by the Politics of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation, it is the country's second largest employer with about 54,000 employees. The group is ba ...

, in 2010.,

Biography

Between 1958 and 1962 Youri Messen-Jaschin studied

Fine art In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function (such as ...

at the

École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in nor ...

(student of Robert Cami) and

History of art The history of art focuses on objects made by humans for any number of spiritual, narrative, philosophical, symbolic, conceptual, documentary, decorative, and even functional and other purposes, but with a primary emphasis on its aesthetics ...

at the

École pratique des hautes études The (), abbreviated EPHE, is a French postgraduate top level educational institution, a . EPHE is a constituent college of the Université PSL (together with ENS Ulm, Paris Dauphine or Ecole des Mines). The college is closely linked to É ...

(student of Pierre Francastel), both in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. Between 1962 and 1965, he attended the

École cantonale d'art de Lausanne The École cantonale d'art de Lausanne (ÉCAL) is a university of art and design located in the Renens suburb of Lausanne, Switzerland. It was founded in 1821 and is affiliated with the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Western Switzerl ...

. He worked with engraver and painter Ernest Pizzotti. He exposed his kinetic glass and acrylic sculptures in Lausanne in 1964. He worked two years at the Center of Contemporary Engraving 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 ...

and then in

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

, where he collaborated with the painter Friederich Kuhn. Between 1968 and 1970, he studied at the School of Design and Crafts in Göteborg, where he researched textile kinetic objects. There, through his discussions with artists Jesús Rafael Soto,

Carlos Cruz-Diez Carlos Cruz-Diez (17 August 1923 – 27 July 2019) was a Venezuelan artist said by some scholars to have been "one of the greatest artistic innovators of the 20th century." Career In 2020, the Pérez Art Museum Miami acquired ''Chromosatura ...

and Julio Le Parc, he became increasingly interested in by Op art and decided to devote all his research to

Kinetic art Kinetic art is art from any medium that contains movement perceivable by the viewer or that depends on motion for its effects. Canvas paintings that extend the viewer's perspective of the artwork and incorporate multidimensional movement are ...

. He started to increasingly integrate movement and geometric shapes in his textiles and oil paintings. In 1968, he received the first prize for Swiss contemporary engraving art as well as a scholarship from the Swedish government. In 1970, he worked in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

, collaborating with North German artists on monumental projects, and created a kinetic sculpture for Gould in Eichstetten, Germany. Youri Messen-Jaschin traveled in South America, where he was able to discuss architecture – which plays an important role in his work – and its relations to his own research on movement with architects and artists like

Oscar Niemeyer Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho (15 December 1907 – 5 December 2012), known as Oscar Niemeyer (), was a Brazilian architect considered to be one of the key figures in the development of modern architecture. Niemeyer was b ...

and

Roberto Burle Marx Roberto Burle Marx (August 4, 1909 – June 4, 1994) was a Brazilian landscape architect (as well as a painter, print maker, ecologist, naturalist, artist and musician) whose designs of parks and gardens made him world-famous. He is credited w ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

Ruy Ohtake Ruy Ohtake (27 January 1938 — 27 November 2021) was a Brazilian architect. He was the son of artist Tomie Ohtake. History Son of Japanese artist Tomie Ohtake, Ruy Ohtake was known for his unusual architectural designs. Examples of his proje ...

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 ...

, and Clorindo Testa in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

. In 1984 in

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...

, he staged theatre and choreography of his own works at the Ateneo, the

Eugenio Mendoza Eugenio Mendoza Goiticoa (Caracas, November 13, 1906, Caracas, October 17, 1979) was a Venezuelan business tycoon who made important contributions in the modernization of the country during the 20th Century. Early life He was the son of Eugenio M ...

Foundation, the Asociación Cultural Humboldt (

Goethe-Institut The Goethe-Institut (; GI, ''Goethe Institute'') is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit German culture, cultural organization operational worldwide with more than 150 cultural centres, promoting the study of the German language abroad and en ...

), and at the

Alliance française (; "French Alliance", stylised as ''af'') is an international organization that aims to promote the French language and francophone culture around the world. Created in Paris on 21 July 1883 under the name ''Alliance française pour la propa ...

. After a stay of several months in New York, he returned to Switzerland in 1971, where he took up residence in

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

, where he lived for eleven years. During his stay, he frequently exhibited at the

Kunsthalle A kunsthalle () is a facility that mounts temporary art exhibitions, similar to an art gallery. It is distinct from an art museum by not having a permanent collection. In the German-speaking regions of Europe, ''Kunsthallen'' are often operated ...

and other local museums. He currently lives in

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

, Switzerland. He participated in many international exhibitions. His works are in private collections, in national and international museums.

Gallery

Image:Vertigo-2002 1.jpg

Exhibitions

* 201
Youri Messen-Jaschin: Op Art, Galerie du Château, Renens, Switzerland
* 201
POPA Museum
, Exhibition Youri Messen-Jaschin Op Art , April 20-May 21 , Porrentruy, Switzerland * 2019 Youri Messen-Jaschin , Galerie du Château, Renens, Switzerland , March 15-April 7, 2019

Books and magazines

* 2000 Premio Internazionale di scultura "Terzo millenio" Terra Moretti Editor Fiorenza Mursia/

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

/Italy * 201
Guide Contemporain, volume III
p. 138 , Published by th
Fondation Lémanique pour l'Art Contemporain
* 202
Youri Messen-Jaschin, an artist who plays with your brain
''Swiss Review'', The magazine for the Swiss Abroad, p. 10-11.

Awards

* USA Award Artavita , 30th international Art Contest , Certificate of excellence , 2019 * USA , Artist of the year award
Award for Wormhole
(screen printing) , Foundation for the Art , 2019 * USA ,

, Merit Award for Excellent Artwork , Feb. 2019

Encyclopedic

* 1987 to 1992 Who's and Who international art * 1981 Institut Suisse pour l'étude de l'art, Dictionnaire des artistes suisses contemporains (Swiss institute for the study of

art Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

, Dictionary of the contemporary Swiss artists) * 1970–1980, 1980–1990, 1990–2000 Editor Huber Frauenfeld-

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

/Switzerland/Germany * 1999 Dictionnaire biographique de l'art Suisse, Répertoire des artistes suisses/ Institut suisse pour l'étude de l'art Zurich & Lausanne (Biographical dictionary of Swiss art, Repertory of the Swiss artists/Swiss Institute for the study of art Zurich & Lausanne) Editor Neue Zürcher Zeitung/Zurich/Switzerland * 1990–2008 QUID Editor Robert Laffont Paris/France * 2008 Visarte Vaud – 152 creative personalities , Editor League of visual artists and architects Lausanne Switzerland.

Theater

* 1982 «PSICOTRONICÓ» Caracas;

; * 1983 «AH! AH! BARROCO» Caracas * 1983 «LA TORTA QUE CAMINA» Caracas;

;

; * 1964 «EMBRYO»

;

;

References

External links

Youri Messen-Jaschin , Neurosciences meet Op Art , University Viseu, Portugal

Brain project News: 1 March 2017 , Association Brain project 1 , Lausanne

Youri Messen-Jaschin , Weaving , 1960 - 1981

Youri Messen-Jaschin , Painting - Screen printing , 1960-2016
{{DEFAULTSORT:Messen-Jaschin, Youri Swiss sculptors Body art 1941 births Living people ÉCAL alumni Swiss performance artists Swiss contemporary artists Op art