Grancy, Switzerland, 1983
Lives and works in Basel, Switzerland

Claudia Comte’s work is defined by her interest in the memory of materials and by a careful observation of how the hand relates to different technologies. The artist’s practice is guided by a distinct rule-measurement system of her own creation, wherein each artwork specifically relates to one another. Comte’s minimalist approach to art making is equal parts methodical and dynamic; works are infused with a distinct sense of playfulness. Her artistic output incorporates a diverse range of mediums from sculpture, to painting, to various multimedia installations.

Claudia Comte is best known for her large-scale environmental installations that embody the world from the perspective of a form of consciousness primarily shaped through the digital experience. The artist puts a strong autobiographical reference in her artworks. The forest with its trees and all its non-anthropocentric data belong to her memory and specifically her childhood memories, and these elements are the first to influence the translation of the landscape into her creations. If Comte’s sculptures are rooted in the naturalness of biomorphic forms, her mural interventions transform surfaces into optical sequences and infinite graphic signs with a digital age aesthetic. The monochromatic vocabulary that invests all her work brings her visually close to the abstraction of Sol LeWitt, Bridget Riley and even John Armleder, an artist with whom she studied.

CV

Education

2010
Master of Art in Science of Education
Haute Ecole Pédagogique, Visual Arts
Lausanne, Switzerland

2007
Bachelor Arts Visuels
ECAL (Ecole Cantonale d’Arts de Lausanne, Switzerland

Solo Exhibitions and Projects

2024
Special Installation, EMST National Museum of Contemporary Art Αthens, Greece (upcoming)

2023
Noor Riyadh, Public Art Project, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (upcoming)
Five Marble Leaves, Paris+ Public Art Project, Jardin des Tuileries/Paris, France
Cacti, Waves and Sunsets
, Globus Public Art Project in collaboration with Fondation Beyeler, Basel, Switzerland
Marine Wildfire & Underwater Forests, Gladstone Gallery, Seoul, Korea
From Where We Rise, Casa Wabi, Puerto Escondido, Mexico

2022
Jungle and Corals, König Galerie, Berlin, Germany
Through Dry Ocean Forrests, Albarràn Bourdais, Madrid, Spain
Five Marble Leaves, Central Wharf Park, Boston, USA
An Impending Disaster (hahaha), König Galerie im Kleines Haus der Kunst, Vienna, Austria

2021
Tree Line Curve, Rolex Learning Center, EPFL Lausanne, Switzerland
The Interview Painting Ensemble (mise en scène in 12 Acts), Art Basel Parcours, StadtCasino, Basel, Switzerland
After Nature, Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, Spain
Dreaming of Alligator Head, König Digital, König Gallery, Berlin, Germany
Jungle and Corals, König Galerie, Berlin, Germany

2020
The Sea of Darkness, Kunstraum Dornbirn, Austria
Corals and Jungle, CLAUDIA COMTE x KÖNIG GALERIE, Kunsttage Basel, Switzerland

2019
How to Grow and Still Stay the Same Shape, Castello di Rivoli, Torino, Italy
Fruits and Jungle, König Galerie, London, UK
The Cavern of Lost Dreams (nine characters), Gladstone Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
Bunnies and ZigZag, Galerie Joy de Rouvre, Geneva, Switzerland
I have Grown Taller from Standing with Trees, Copenhagen Contemporary, Denmark
The Morphing Scallops, Gladstone Gallery, 24th St, New York, USA

2018
Fruits and Bodies, Alexander Clavel Prize, Villa Wenkenhof, Riehen, Switzerland
When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth, König Galerie, Berlin, Germany
Electric Burst (Lines and Zigzags), Contemporary Art Museum, St. Louis, USA
Zigzags and Diagonals, Museum of Contemporary Art, Cleveland, USA

2017
The Primary Fondue Party, Salon Suisse: ATARAXIA / Venice Biennale, Italy
La Ligne Claire, curated by Samuel Leuenberger, Basement Roma, Rome, Italy
Black and White Circles in the Sky, curated by Christoph Doswald, Münsterhof, Zurich, Switzerland
NOW I WON, curated by Chus Martinez, Messeplatz, Art Basel, Switzerland
10 Rooms, 40 Walls, 1059 m2, Kunstmuseum, Luzern, Switzerland
ArtGeneve with König Galerie, Palexpo, Geneva, Switzerland

2016
The Curves, the Corners and the Machines, Festival International d‘Art Toulouse, France
Zigzag division, Musée Cantonal des Beaux Arts, Lausanne, Switzerland
Catch The Tail By The Tiger, König Galerie, Berlin, Germany
The Primary Fondue Party, BolteLang, Zurich, Switzerland

2015
Sonic Geometry, BolteLang, Zurich, Switzerland
Sonic Geometry, Galerie Art et Essai, Rennes, France
Story Bumping, Milieu Gallery, Ber, France
No Melon No Lemon, Gladstone Gallery, New York, USA

2014
Le Passage de L’Etoile, (with Guillaume Pilet), Vevey, Switzerland
Fluide Glacial, (with BolteLang), LISTE, Basel, Switzerland
Art Brussels, (with Gladstone Gallery), Brussels, Belgium
Easy Heavy III, Haus Konstruktiv, Zurich, Switzerland
Sharp Sharp, David Dale Gallery, Glasgow, Scotland

2013
All Work and All Play, Toshiba House, Besançon, France
Claudia Comte & Omar Ba, Centre Pasquart, Biel, Switzerland
Wir baden auf der Freianlage, Gladstone Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
If I were a rabbit, where would I keep my gloves?, BolteLang, Zurich, Switzerland
X, Y, Z, FriArt, Fribourg, Switzerland
Summer Villa Extension, Centre Culturel Suisse, Paris, France

2012
NO LEMON NO MELON, Tripode, Nantes, France
From Zanzibar to Acapulco, (with Guillaume Pilet), SALTS, Basel, Switzerland
Trouble Rainbow III, BolteLang, Zurich, Switzerland
Vanity Loop, Kunst am Bau, Yverdon Gymnasium, Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland
From Acapulco to Zanzibar, (with Guillaume Pilet), La Rada, Locarno, Switzerland

2011
Scantione-Tensione, Swiss Institute of Rome, Italy
IBIZA, (with Vittorio Brodmann), Milieu Gallery, Bern, Switzerland
Trouble Rainbow II, Favorite Goods, Los Angeles, USA
Trouble Rainbow, Galleria Marie-Laure Fleisch, Rome, Italy
Estampes, Studio Raynald Métraux, Lausanne, Switzerland

2010
Welcome to Colorful, Lucy Mackintosh Gallery, Lausanne, Switzerland

2009
Rond Point, Darse Gallery, Geneva, Switzerland
You cut but you can’t, (with Mélodie Mousset), Galerie zqm, Berlin, Germany
Naturalisés, (with Tatiana Rihs), Musée Arlaud, Lausanne, Switzerland

2008
Inimitable, Galerie Lucy Mackintosh, Lausanne, Switzerland
Georges abstraction surface air, Bureau des vidéos, Le George, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France
Video projection, Rêves, Window of Swiss Cultural Center, Paris, France

2007
L’Echo, Standard Deluxe, Lausanne, Switzerland

Group Exhibitions

2023
Solo Summer Group Show III, Albarrán Bourdain, Solo Houses, Matarraña, Spain
Desert Flood, LagoAlgo, Mexico City, Mexico
The Liberation of Form. Barbara Hepworth – A Master of Abstraction in the Mirror of Modernism, Lehmbruck Museum, Duisburg, Germany

2022
IN NATURE NOTHING EXISTS ALONE, Hypermaremma, Maremma, Italy
Omnibus – 10 Years of Kinderhook & Caracas, Kinderhook & Caracas, Berlin, Germany
Abundant Futures, C3A Centro de Creación Contemporánea de Andalucía, Córdoba, Spain
Voices in the Evening, Vistamare, Milan, Italy
Desert X, AlUla, Saudi Arabia
Geometric Opulence, Museum Haus Konstruktiv, Zurich, Switzerland

2021
Gstaad goes Wilde, Galerie Wilde, Gstaad, Switzerland
Painting in Person. The new Collection of Fondazione CRC, St Francis’ Monumental Complex, Cuneo, Italy
One Decade of Female Sculptors, Kleines Haus der Kunst, Vienna, Austria
Stretch Marks, projects+gallery, St. Louis, USA
Group Show 2021, Galerie Joy de Rouvre, Geneva, Switzerland
Kunst & Nachhaltigkeit Vol 14: 25 Jahre Prix Mobilière, die Mobiliar, Ber, Switzerland
Solo Summer Group Show, Solo Houses, Galería Albarrán Bourdais, Madrid, Spain
The Dreamers, 58th October Salon, Belgrade Biennale, Belgrade, Serbia
Môtiers 2021 – Art en plein air, Môtiers, Switzerland
Ever Seen Never Seen, Akkurat Labs, Berlin, Germany
La sculpture suisse depuis 1945, Aargauer Kunsthaus, Aarau, Switzerland
Nature of Robotics: An Expanded Field, EPFL ArtLab, Lausanne, Switzerland
Bunnies & Dogs, Ruttkowski;68 Gallery, Paris, France

2020
More, More, More, Tank, Shanghai, China
This Morning, in the Sweet Torpor of the great Forest, is Like Every Morning in the World, (curated by Samuel Leuenberger & Claudia Comte), Country Salts, Bennwil, Switzerland
Drawing 2020, Gladstone Gallery, 21st, New York, USA
The Sunrise Sings, (curated by Chus Martinez), Tarmak 22, Gstaad, USA
Figures on Ground, Foundation CAB, Brussels, Belgium
Sculpture Zeitgeist?, Achenbach Hagemeier, Düsseldorf, Germany

2019
Zone dangereuse, Zidoun – Bossuyt Gallery, Luxembourg
Szene Berlin, König Galerie zu Gast bei Ketterer Kunst, Munich, Germany
Roskilde Festival, Roskilde, Denmark
Delirious – Lustwarande ‘19, De Oude Warande, Tilburg, Netherlands
Blickachsen 12, Stiftung Blickachsen, Bad Homburg vor der Höhe, Germany

2018
Foundation for Contemporary Arts Benefit Exhibition, Gladstone Gallery, 21st, New York, USA
HOLZSCHNITT NOW! XYLON Deutschland und Schweiz mit Gästen, Kunstmuseum Reutlingen, Germany
Exclusively Contemporary (Swiss Society of Engraving), Cabinet d’estampes, Geneva, Switzerland
Benefit for the Foundation For Contemporary Arts, Gladstone Gallery, New York, USA
Thomas und Tania Asbaek, Copenhagen, Denmark
Biennale Val Gardena, Ortisei, Italy
20 years Kunst Raum Riehen – The Jubilee Exhibition, Kunst Raum, Riehen, Switzerland
Biennale Gherdeina VI, Ortise, Italy
UNTITLED (MONOCHROME), 1957-2017, Richard Taittinger Gallery, New York, USA
100 Jahre Schweizerische Graphische Gesellschaft, Graphische Sammlung, Zurich, Switzerland
Hot Saw – Electric Power (New Swiss Performance Now), Kunsthalle Basel, Switzerland

2017
Crib II, (curated by Yves Scherer), Galerie 95, Biel, Switzerland
SkulptureKöln #9 “La Fin de Babylone. Mich wundert, dass ich so fröhlich bin!”, (curated by Chus Martinez), Sculpture Park Cologne, Germany
Beneath the Salt, (presented by Conglomerate), Kinderhook and Caracas, Berlin, Germany
Curves and Zigzags, Desert X, Palm Springs, USA

2016
128 triangles and their demonstration, (Installation for the Public sector), ArtBasel, Miami Beach, USA
The Language of Things, (with the Public Art Fund), City Hall Park Lower Manhattan, New York, USA
UM DIE ECKE DENKEN – DIE SAMMLUNG (1986- 2016), Museum Haus Konstruktiv, Zurich, Switzerland
Tous les tableaux sont à l’envers, Circuit, Lausanne, Switzerland
/Quiz 2, Mudam Luxembourg, Luxembourg

2015
Christmas show, SALTS, Basel, Switzerland
Des Seins à Dessein, Espace Arlaud, Lausanne, Switzerland
Ligne Aveugle, ISBA, Besançon, Switzerland
Full House, Bunk Club at Shanaynay, Paris, France
Architecture & Nature, (curated by Simon Lamunière), Contemporary Sculpture Park, Domaine Le Muy, France
My Lonely Days Are Gone Part 2, (curated by Arturo Herrera), Arratia Beer, Berlin, Germany
Art Imprimé (Triennale 2015), Musée des Beaux-Arts de Le Locle, Switzerland
“Pour que vous aimiez quelque chose il faut que vous l’ayez vu et entendu depuis longtemps tas d’idiots.” Francis Picabia, (Collection Cahiers d’Artistes 2015), LISTE, Basel, Switzerland
WLGTDWI, (performance evening with Claudia Comte), SALTS, Basel, Switzerland
Môtiers 2015 – Art en plein air, Môtiers, Switzerland
Gargle/Spit, (curated by Kenny Schachter), TBD, New York, USA
Work Hard: Selections by Valentin Carron, Swiss Institute, New York, USA
Reliability of Recognition, BolteLang, Zurich, Switzerland

2014
Elevation 1049, (curated by Neville Wakefield), Gstaad, Switzerland
Post-Op. Perceptual Gone Painterly / Du perceptuel au pictural. 1958 – 2014, (curated by Matthieu Poirier), Galerie Perrotin, Paris, France
BolteLang Stadtbiotop 2014, Zurich, Switzerland
Bex & Arts (Triennale de la sculpture Suisse), Bex, Switzerland
Arts Multiplicata, Kunsthalle Koidl, Berlin, Germany

2013
Post-Mortem, Forde, Geneva, Switzerland
Draft for a particular vision of the future, Bar Babette, Berlin, Germany
Châteaux Secrets, Fondation Ricard, Paris, France
Mixed Message Media, (curated by Neville Wakefield), Gladstone Gallery, New York, USA
Harum Scarum, Galerie Blancpain, Geneva, Switzerland
Paraphernalia, Telemark Contemporary Art Center, Skien, Norway

2012
Under 30, Kunsthaus Glarus, Switzerland
La jeunesse est un art, Kunsthaus Aarau, Switzerland
Tell The Children / Abstraction pour enfant, La Salle de Bain, Lyon, France
If I had 8 hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend 6 sharpening my axe, Kunst Raum, Riehen, Switzerland

2011
Territoires, Bex & Arts (Swiss Sculpture Triannual), Bex, Switzerland
Train Fantôme, Cruise and Callas Gallery, Berlin, Germany
Rock The Casbah, Swiss Institute of Rome, Italy
20 ans des espaces d’une sculpture (Visarte Vaud), Parc de Mont Repos, Lausanne, Switzerland
Le Fédéral à Semen-Contra, Rotwand Gallery, Zurich, Switzerland
Accrochage, Vaud 2011, Musée Cantonal des Beaux-Arts, Lausanne, Switzerland

2010
Jeune Création 2010, Le CENTQUATRE, Paris, France
Minipic, Pauline’s, New York, USA
10 ans du MUDAC, (collaboration with Tatiana Rihs), MUDAC, Lausanne, Switzerland

2009
I could do that! No, you could’t!, Milieu Gallery, Bern, Switzerland
Kawabanga, Espace Delrue, La Barthoteque, Nantes, France
Condominia, Musée Rath, Geneva, Switzerland
I am by birth a Genevese, Espace Forde, Geneva, Switzerland
I am by birth a Genevese, Vegas Gallery, London, UK
Transit, (collective urban exhibition), Renens, Switzerland

2008
Patapsychique, Library of the Swiss Cultural Center, Paris, France
Le Spectrarium, Le Corbusier Pavillion, Cité Universitaire, Paris, France
Made by ECAL, Espace Lausannois d’art contemporain, Renens, Switzerland
Abstraction-Extension, Fondation Salomon, Alex, France
That’s all Folks!, Chez Popper, Geneva, Switzerland
X (proposed by N. Wagnières), Galerie 1m3, Lausanne, Switzerland
Black Diaspora, Galerie Out of this World, Montreux, Switzerland

2007
Weihnachtsmarkt, Milieu Gallery, Bern, Switzerland
Athéne, Claudia, Orlane, Milieu Gallery, Bern, Switzerland

2006
Cabinet Budget, Atelier 304, Usine, Geneva, Switzerland
Sonal, Arsenic, Lausanne, Switzerland
Sublime, Atelier 304, Usine, Geneva, Switzerland
Morgenstern, Château de Morges, Morges, Switzerland
Mini-golf, Circuit, Lausanne, Switzerland

2005
Accrochage, Vaud 2005, Musée cantonal des Beaux-Arts, Lausanne, Switzerland
Académie de sculpture, (proposition by Pierre Vadi), Atelier 304, Usine, Geneva, Switzerland
Les Urbaines, Cinémathèque Suisse, Lausanne, Switzerland
           

Collections

Art Collection of the Canton Zurich, Switzerland
Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, USA
BCV Art Collection, Switzerland
Castello di Rivoli, Turin, Italy
Collection Bundesamt für Kultur, Switzerland
Collection of ECAL – Ecole Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne, Switzerland
Collection of Museum Haus Konstruktiv, Zurich, Switzerland
Credit Suisse Collection, Switzerland
Fundación María Cristina Masaveu Peterson, Madrid, Spain
Fondation pour l’Art Contemporain Claudine et Jean-Marc Salomon, Annecy, France
Julius Baer Collection, Switzerland
Kunstmuseum Luzern, Switzerland
Marciano Art Foundation, Los Angeles, USA
Mobiliar Art Collection, Switzerland
MoMA – Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA
Musée cantonal des Beaux-Arts, Lausanne, Switzerland
Musée Jenisch, Vevey, Switzerland
Museum Haus Konstruktiv, Zurich, Switzerland
Nationale Suisse Art Collection, Switzerland
Novartis Art Collection, Basel, Switzerland
Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary Collection, Madrid
UBS Art Collection, Switzerland

Awards

2019
TBA21 – Academy & Alligator Head Foundation Residency, Port Antonio, Jamaica

2018
The Current, TBA21 – Academy, expedition and residency, North Islands, New Zealand
Kulturförderpreis der Alexander Clavel Stiftung, Riehen, Switzerland

2015
International Artists-In-Labs Residency – Russian Academy of Sciences, Jekaterinburg, Russia
Prix de la Ville du Locle – Triennale de l’Art Imprimé Contemporain, Switzerland
Sponsorship Award – Stiftung für die Graphische Kunst in der Schweiz, Switzerland

2014
Swiss Art Award

2013
Pro Helvetia Residency, Johannesburg, South Africa

2012
Kiefer Hablitzel Award, Switzerland
Mobiliar Award, Switzerland
Support from the UBS Foundation for Contemporary Art, Switzerland

2011
Support from the Canton Vaud, Vaud, Switzerland
Support from the city of Lausanne, Vaud, Switzerland

2010
Residency Swiss Institute of Rome, Rome, Italy
Residency Vent des Forêts, Meus, France

2009
Residency Galerie Zwanzigquadrameter, Berlin, Germany

2008
Residency Cité des Arts – Laureate of l’Atelier Vaudois du 700ème, Paris, France
Support from the Social and Cultural Association for the Swiss in Paris, Paris, France