Simon Senn

b. 1986, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland

2011-2013 MA Fine Art, Goldsmiths, University of London, London, UK
2007-2010 BA Fine Art, HEAD, Geneva University of Art and Design, Geneva, Switzerland

Watch Just Let Go by Simon Senn

Artist’s Statement

Simon Senn’s films deal with human behaviour and patterns of interaction. His explorations of group dynamics and individual responses take place in contexts defined by the artist, including an artist’s talk, a friend’s bedroom and a South African housing project. Through his deliberately candid filming technique and other interventions Senn reveals and heightens existing tensions within a given social setting.

The video Just Let Go features darkly dressed, hooded youngsters who throw black paint on white walls and set brushes on fire. hey recall, for the viewer, the often masked and disguised figures in media images of social demonstrations and violent riots. The installation features leaflets distributed in which the artist describes the origin of the video and asks the audience to take part in a new experience.

Recent Exhibitions

Solo:
2014 18h15, Galerie Nicola von Senger, Zürich, Switzerland
2011 Simon Senn – Videodromo, Atelier dell'Arco Amoroso, Ancona, Italy
2010 Participatory Panopticon, CACT - Centro d’Arte Contemporanea del Ticino Bellinzona, Switzerland
2010 Simon Senn, Galerie Nicola von Senger, Zürich, Switzerland

Group:
2013 A Small Hiccup, Grand Union and The Newbridge Project, Birmingham, UK and Newcastle, UK
2012-2013 Bloomberg New Contemporaries, Spike Island, Bristol and ICA, London, UK
2010 Lust and Vice, the Seven Deadly Sins from Dürer to Nauman, Kunstmuseum Bern, Switzerland
2010 Timing, Centro per l’Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci, Prato, Italy
2009 Complete Control, Apex, Göttingen, Germany

Awards and Residencies

2013-2015 Residency, atelier pour plasticien à la Maison des arts du Grütli Fonds d'art contemporain de la Ville de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland
2011 Swiss Art Award, Bundesamt für Kultur, Bern, Germany
2011 Prix Suisse de la Performance FMAC, Aargauer Kuratorium, Kunstkredit Basel-Stadt, Geneva, Switzerland
2009 Kiefer-Hablitzel Prize, Kiefer Hablitzel Stiftung, Switzerland

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