Urs Fischer ( b.1973) is a Contemporary artist known for large-scale sculptures and installations that explore a wide range of materials from popular culture. Born in Zurich, Fischer studied photography at the Schule für Gestaltung before turning his focus on making objects borrowed from everyday life; Bread House (2004–2006) constructs a cabin from loaves of bread, and Lamp/Bear (2005–2006) bisects a monumental teddy bear with a desk lamp. One of Fischer's primary interests is the spontaneous process of creating and destroying materials. His installation What if the phone rings (2003) involves lighting life-size candles in the shape of nude women, creating ever-changing shapes as they burn down during the course of the exhibition. Fischer's willingness to push boundaries to create shocking spectacles reached its peak in You, the excavation of the floor of his gallery, Gavin Brown's Enterprise. His work has been exhibited at the Venice Biennale in 2003, 2005, and 2007, and he has held solo shows at the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the Kunsthaus Zürich in Switzerland. Fischer lives and works in New York, and is an artist-in-residence at the Delfina Studios in London. Education: Schule für Gestaltung, Zürich, Switzerland. Visited de Ateliers, Amsterdam, Netherlands. Delfina Studio Trust, London, England. Solo Exhibitions: 2015 Urs Fischer: Bruno & Yoyo. Vito Schnabel Gallery, St. Moritz, Switzerland. Urs Fischer: Fountains. Gagosian Gallery, Beverly Hills, CA. Urs Fischer. The Modern Institute, Glasgow, Scotland. Big Clay #4. Seagram Plaza, New York, NY. Urs Fischer. Sadie Coles HQ-in-residence, T293, Naples, Italy 2014 Urs Fischer. Gavin Brown's Enterprise, New York, NY. Urs Fischer: Julian. Karma, Amagansett, NY. Urs Fischer. Sadie Coles HQ, London, England. Urs Fischer: last supper. Gagosian Gallery, Park & 75, New York, NY. Urs Fischer: mermaid pig bro w/hat. Gagosian Gallery, 104 Delancey Street, New York, NY. Untitled. Lever House Art Collection, New York, NY. 2013 Urs Fischer. Sadie Coles HQ, London, England. Urs Fischer. Gagosian Gallery, Rome, Italy. YES. Slaughterhouse, Deste Foundation Project Space, Hydra, Greece. Urs Fischer. Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA. Tables, Heads, and Arms. Eden Rock Gallery, St. Jean, St. Barthélemy, French West Indies (Organized by Gagosian Gallery). Festival d'Automne à Paris, École National des Beaux-Arts, Paris, France. Madame Fisscher. Palazzo Grassi, Venice, Italy. schmutz schmutz. Gagosian Gallery, Paris, France. Beds and Problem Paintings. Gagosian Gallery, Beverly Hills, CA. Skinny Sunrise. Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna, Austria. 2011 dngszjkdufiy bgxfjkglijkhtr kydjkhgdghjkd (with Cassandra MacLeod). Gavin Brown's Enterprise, New York, NY. Urs Fischer and Georg Herold. The Modern Institute, Glasgow, Scotland. Untitled (Lamp/Bear). Seagram Plaza, New York, NY. 2010 Douglas Sirk. Sadie Coles HQ, London, England. Oscar the Grouch. The Brant Foundation Art Study Center, Greenwich, CT. 2009 Urs Fischer: Marguerite de Ponty. New Museum, New York, NY. Dear _________! We _____ on ________, hysterically. It has to be _____ that _____. No? It is now ______ and the whole _______ has changed ______. all the _____, ______ (with Mark Handforth and Georg Harold). Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo, Norway. 2008 Blurry Renoir Debussy. Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zürich, Switzerland. 2007 Agnes Martin. Regen Projects, Los Angeles, CA. you. Gavin Brown's enterprise, New York, NY. Uh... Sadie Coles HQ, London, England. large, dark and empty. Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zürich, Switzerland. get up girl a sun is running the world (with Ugo Rondinone). Church San Stae, Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy. Cockatoo Island, Kaldor Art Projects and the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust, Sydney, Australia. 2006 Urs Fischer e Rudolf Stingel. Galleria Massimo de Carlo, Milan, Italy. Oh. Sad. I see.. The Modern Institute, Glasgow, Scotland. Mary Poppins. Blaffer Gallery, The Art Museum of the University of Houston, TX. Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zürich, Switzerland. Paris 1919. Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. 2005 Mr. Watson—Come Here—I Want to See You. Hydra Workshop, Greece. Urs Fischer: Werke aus der Friedrich Christian Flick Collection im Hamburger Bahnhof. Hamburger Bahnhof, Museum für Gegenwart, Berlin; Camden Arts Centre, London, England. Jet Set Lady. Fondazione Nicola Trussardi, Istituto dei Ciechi, Milan, Italy. Fig, Nut and Pear. Gavin Brown's enterprise, New York, NY. 2004 Elton John?. Sadie Coles HQ, London, England. Feige, Nuss, und Birne. Gruppe Österreichische Guggenheim, Vienna, Austria. Kir Royal. Kunsthaus Zürich, Switzerland. Not My House Not My Fire. Espace 315, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France. 2003 Portrait of a Single Raindrop. Gavin Brown's enterprise, New York, NY. need no chair when walking. Sadie Coles HQ, London, England. 2002 What should an Owl do with a Fork. Santa Monica Museum of Art, CA. Mystique Mistake. The Modern Institute, Glasgow, Scotland. Bing Crosby. Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin, Germany. 2001 Mastering the Complaint. Galerie Hauser and Wirth and Presenhuber, Zürich, Switzerland. 2000 Cappillon—Urs just does it for the girls (with Amy Adler). Delfina, London, England. The Membrane—and why I don't mind bad-mooded People. Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Tagessuppen/Soups of the Days and 6 1⁄2 Domestic Pairs Project (with Keith Tyson). Kunsthaus Glarus, Switzerland. Without a Fist—Like a Bird. Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, England. 1999 Espressoqueen—Worries and other stuff you have to think about before you get ready for the big easy. Galerie Hauser and Wirth and Presenhuber, Zürich, Switzerland. 1997 Hammer. Galerie Walcheturm, Zürich, Switzerland. 1996 Frs Uischer. Galerie Walcheturm, Zürich, Switzerland. Group Exhibitions: 2015 Unrealism. Moore Building, Miami, FL. COOL / As a State of Mind. MAMO — Centre d'art de la Cité Radieuse, Marseilles, France. Sleepless – The bed in history and contemporary art. Österreichische Galerie Belvederem, Vienna, Austria. Voice for My Father. Ullens Center for Contemporary Arts, Beijing, China. 2014 SHE: Picturing women at the turn of the 21st Century. David Winton Bell Gallery, Brown University, Providence, RI. Horror vacui. Gagosian Gallery, Geneva, Switzerland. Horror vacui. Gagosian Gallery, Athens, Greece. FIERCE CREATIVITY. Pace Gallery, New York, NY. Le Jardin Décomposé / Decomposed Garden. Gagosian Gallery, Le Bourget, Paris, France. A Very Short History of Contemporary Sculpture. Phillips, London, England. Burning Down the House. Gwangju Biennale, Gwangju, Korea. The Human Factor. Hayward Gallery, London, England. Sadie Coles HQ, London, England. In NO Times. The Modern Institute, Glasgow, Scotland. Joyride. Marlborough Broome Street, New York, NY. Art Lovers: Histoires d'art dans la collection Pinault. Grimaldi Forum, Monaco. An American in Paris: Works from a Private Collection. Gagosian Gallery, Le Bourget, Paris, France. Elevation 1049: Between Heaven and Hell. Gstaad, Switzerland. 2013 Zero Hours. Art Sheffield 2013, Site Gallery, Sheffield, England. Somos Libres. MATE, Lima, Peru. Station to Station. New York, NY. Traveled to train stations in Pittsburgh, PA, Chicago, IL, Minneapolis / St. Paul, MN, Santa Fe, NM, Winslow, AZ, Barstow, CA, Los Angeles, CA and Oakland / San Francisco, CA. Van Gogh, Dali and Beyond: The World Reimagined. Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth, Australia. Body Pressure: Sculpture Since the 1960's. Hamburger Bahnof, Museum fur Ggenwart, Berlin, Germany. Drawing Line into Form: Works on Paper by Sculptors from the Collection of BNY Mellon. Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, WA. Crystal Maze IV - 1 + 2 + 3 = 3. Nouveau Festival, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France. Festival d'Automne à Paris, École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris, France The Painting Factory: Abstraction After Andy Warhol. Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA. Seuls quelques fragments de nous toucheront quelques fragments d'autrui (Only parts of us will ever touch parts of others). Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris, France. Ensemble. Galerie kreo, Paris, France. Westbau Pool, etc, Löwenbräu Kunst, Zurich, Switzerland. Painting Now. Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zurich, Switzerland. Riotous Baroque. From Cattelan to Zurbaran – Tributes to Precarious Vitality. Kunsthaus Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; Guggenheim Bilbao, Bilbao, Spain. Poule! Fundacion/ Coleccion Jumex, Ecatepec, Mexico. Micro Mania. Gagosian Gallery, Paris Project Space, France. 2011 Home Alone. Sender Collection, Miami, FL. Now: obras de La Coleccion Jumex. Hospicio Cabanas, Guadalajara, Mexico. In Deed: Certificates of Authenticity in Art. De Kabinetten van De Vleeshal, Middelburg, The Netherlands; Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa, Venice, Italy; KHOJ International Artists' Association, New Delhi, India; Mumbai Art Room, Mumbai, India; Nero, Rome, Italy; School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL; The Drawing Center, New York, NY. Artists for Haiti. David Zwirner, New York, NY. Lustwarande 2011—Blemishes. Park de Oude Warande, Museum De Pont, Tilburg, The Netherlands. Produced by Migros: Collection migros museum für gegenwartskunst. Kunstalle Fridericianum, Kassel, Germany. Sculpture Now. Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zürich, Switzerland. ILLUMInazioni / ILLUMInations. Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy. The World Belongs to You. Palazzo Grassi, Venice, Italy. New contemporary galleries featuring the John Kaldor Family Collection. Art Gallery of New South Wales, New South Wales, Australia. L'invention de l'oeuvre: Rodin et les ambassadeurs. Musée Rodin, Paris, France. Sympathy for the Devil. Vanhaerents Art Collection, Brussels, Belgium. Kunstsammlung im Alpenhof Nr. 6: Kunstbetrieb. Alpenhof St. Anton, St. Anton, Switzerland. Don't Do It Etc.. Galerie Bruno Bischofberger, Zürich, Switzerland. dwelling. Marianne Boesky Gallery (uptown), New York, NY. Modern British Sculpture. Royal Academy of Arts, London, England. 8 1/2 . Fondazione Nicola Trussardi, Stazione Leopolda, Florence, Italy. 2010 Die Nase des Michelangelo / The Nose of Michelangelo. Galerie Peter Kilchmann, Zürich, Switzerland. Divine Comedy. Sotheby's, New York, NY. Post Monument: XIV Biennale Internazionale di Scultura di Carrara. Carrara, Italy. Multiple Pleasures: Functional Objects in Contemporary Art. Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York, NY. The New Décor. Hayward Gallery; Garage Center for Contemporary Culture, Moscow, Russia. Alpha Omega: Works from the Dakis Joannou Collection. Deste Foundation for Contemporary Art, Athens, Greece. High Ideals and Crazy Dreams. Galerie Vera Munro, Hamburg, Germany. Voici un dessin Suisse (1990-2010) / Here is a Swiss Drawing. Musée Rath, Geneva, Switzerland; Aargauer Kunsthaus, Aarau, Switzerland. Skin Fruit: Selections from the Dakis Joannou Collection. New Museum, New York, NY. 2009 Beg Borrow and Steal. Rubell Family Collection, Miami, FL. Les enfants terribles. Fundación/Colección Jumex, Ecatepec, Mexico. We Are Sun-kissed and Snow-blind. Galerie Patrick Seguin, Paris, France. Investigations of a Dog: Works from the FACE Collections. Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin, Italy; Ellipse Foundation, Cascais, Portugal; La maison rouge— Foundation Antoine de Galbert, Paris, France; Magasin 3 Stockholm Konsthall, Stockholm, Sweden; Deste Foundation for Contemporary Art, Athens, Greece. Precarious Form I/Prekäre Skulpturen. Galerie Meyer Kainer, Vienna, Austria. Conflicting Tales: Subjectivity (Quadrilogy, Part 1). Burger Collection, Berlin, Germany. 200 Artworks—25 Years: Artists' Editions for Parkett. 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan; Singapore Tyler Print Institute, Robertson Quay, Singapore; Seoul Arts Center, Hangaram Museum, Seoul, Korea. The living and the dead. Gavin Brown's enterprise, New York, NY. Mapping the Studio: Artists from the François Pinault Collection. Palazzo Grassi and Punta della Dogana, Venice, Italy. Magritte et la Lumière / Magritte and Light. Almine Rech Gallery, Brussels, Belgium. Remembering Henry's Show: Selected Works, 1978-2008. The Brant Foundation Art Study Center, Greenwich, CT. A Guest and A Host = A Ghost: Works from the Dakis Joannou Collection. Deste Foundation for Contemporary Art, Athens, Greece. Nothingness and Being. Fundación/Colección Jumex, Ecatepec, Mexico. Compass in Hand: Selections from the Judith Rothschild Foundation Contemporary Drawings Collection. The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY. Saints and Sinners. The Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA. 2008 Ombres. New Galerie de France, Paris, France. Open Plan Living. ART TLV 08, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, Israel. Archaeology of Mind. Malmö Konstmuseum, Malmö Sweden; Kuntsi Museum of Modern Art, Vaasa, Finland. Château de Tokyo / Palais de Fontainebleau. Château de Fontainebleau, Fontainebleau, France. An Unruly History of the Readymade. Fundación/Colección Jumex, Ecatepec, Mexico. Sammlung / Collection. Migros museum für gegenwartskunst, Zürich, Switzerland. Tutti Frutti. BASE / Progetti per l'arte, Florence, Italy. Who's Afraid of Jasper Johns? Tony Shafrazi Gallery, New York, NY. Blasted Allegories: Works from the Ringier Collection. Kunstmuseum Luzern, Lucerne, Switzerland. God is Design. Galeria Fortes Vilaça, São Paulo, Brazil. Countdown. CCS Galleries, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY. Schweiz über alles. Fundación/Colección Jumex, Ecatepec, Mexico. 2007 Euro-Centric, Part 1: New European Art from the Rubell Family Collection. Rubell Family Collection, Miami, FL. Unmonumental: The Object in the 21st Century. New Museum, New York, NY. Jubilee Exhibition. House Eva Presenhuber, Vnà, Switzerland. The Third Mind: Carte Blanche to Ugo Rondinone. Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France. 00's: The history of a decade that has not yet been named. Lyon Biennial of Contemporary Art, Lyon, France. Makers and Modelers: Works in Ceramic. Barbara Gladstone Gallery, New York, NY. Fractured Figure: Works from the Dakis Joannou Collection. Deste Foundation for Contemporary Art, Athens, Greece. Franz West: Soufflé, eine Massenausstellung, Kunstraum Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria. Traum & Trauma: Werke aus der Sammlung Dakis Joannou, Athen, MUMOK and Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna, Austria. The Hamsterwheel, Tese della Nuovissima, Arsenale di Venezia, Venice, Italy; Le Printemps de Septembre, Toulouse, France; CASM Centre d'Art Santa Monica, Barcelona, Spain; Malmö Konsthall, Malmö, Sweden. Domestic Irony: A Foray into Italy's Private Collections, Museion, Bolzano, Italy. Sequence 1: Painting and Sculpture in the Fran ois Pinault Collection, Palazzo Grassi, Venice, Italy. Disorder in the House, Vanhaerents Art Collection, Brussels, Belgium. 2006 The Studio. The Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin, Ireland. The François Pinault Collection, a Post-Pop Selection. Palazzo Grassi, Venice, Italy. Defamation of Character. P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center, Long Island City, NY. Contrabando. Galeria Luisa Strina, São Paulo, Brazil. The Vincent Award 2006. Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Cinq milliards d'années. Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France. Prints. Sadie Coles HQ, London, England. Strange I've Seen That Face Before. Städtisches Museum Abteiberg, Mönchengladbach, Germany. Where Are We Going? Selections from the François Pinault Collection. Palazzo Grassi, Venice, Italy. Collection. Migros museum für gegenwartskunst, Zürich, Switzerland. Infinite Painting–Contemporary Painting and Global Realism. Villa Manin Centre for Contemporary Art, Codroipo, Italy. Day for Night. Whitney Biennial, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY. Collection 1. Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. 2005 Schweizer Druckgraphik 1980-2005. Helmhaus Zürich, Switzerland. Looking at Words: The Formal Presence of Text in Modern and Contemporary Works on Paper. Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York, NY. Goethe Abwärts—Deutsche Jungs Etc.: Works From the Falckenberg Collection. Helsinki Art Museum Meilahti, Finland. Ma Non Al Sud. Galleria Civica d'Arte Contemporanea di Siracusa, Sicily, Italy. Closing Down. Bortolami Dayan, New York, NY. Big Bang. Deconstruction and Creation in 20th Century Art. Centre Pompidou, Paris, France. Put It In Your Mouth / I'll see you on the dark side of the prune. Rivington Arms, New York, NY. Bidibidobidiboo: Works from Collezione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo. Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin, Italy. Material Time / Work Time / Life Time. Reykjavik Art Museum, Reykjavik, Iceland. Swiss Made (The Art of Falling Apart): Works from the Hauser & Wirth Collection. Cobra Museum of Modern Art, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Universal Experience: Art, Life, and the Tourist's Eye. Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL; Hayward Gallery, London, England; Mart: Museo de arte moderna e contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto, Rovereto, Italy. 2004 Central Station: Collection Harald Falckenberg. La maison rouge—Fondation Antoine de Galbert, Paris, France. Skulptur: Prekärer Realismus zwischen Melancholie und Komik. Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna, Austria. Memorable Memory: Migros Museum Collection. Kunst Halle Sankt Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland. Group Show. Regen Projects, Los Angeles, CA. Monument to Now. Deste Foundation for Contemporary Art, Athens, Greece. L'Air du Temps—Collection Printemps / Été 2004. Migros museum für gegenwartskunst, Zürich, Switzerland. I Hate You: The Falckenberg Collection Meets Louisiana. Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk, Denmark. 2003 Silver Convention. Galerie Giti Nourbakhsch, Berlin, Germany. Unplugged. Galleria Civica di Arte Contemporanea, Trento, Italy. Inaugural Group Exhibition. Gavin Brown's enterprise, New York, NY. Dreams and Conflicts: The Dictatorship of the Viewer. Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy. Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered: Spatial Emotion in Contemporary Art and Architecture. Migros museum für gegenwartskunst, Zürich, Switzerland; Laznia Centre for Contemporary Art, Gdańsk, Poland. Kunstpreis der Böttcherstrasse. Kunsthalle Bremen, Bremen, Germany. Breathing the Water. Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zürich, Switzerland. Durchzug / Draft: Zwanzig Jahre Stiftung Binz39. Kunsthalle Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland. 2002 poT: An Exhibition of Contemporary Pottery. The Independent, Liverpool, England. Exile on Main Street. New International Cultural Center, Antwerp, Belgium. The Object Sculpture. Henry Moore Institute, Leeds, England. My head is on fire but my heart is full of love. Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Charlottenborg, Copenhagen. The House of Fiction. Sammlung Hauser und Wirth in der Lokremise St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland. Lowland Lullaby: Ugo Rondinone with John Giorno and Urs Fischer. Swiss Institute, New York, NY. 2001 walcheturm 00/07: mind-sediments. Kunstraum Walcheturm, Zürich, Switzerland. Squatters. Museu Serralves, Porto, Portugal. Ziviler Ungehorsam—Zeitgenössische Kunst aus der Sammlung Falckenberg. Kestner- Gesellschaft, Hannover, Germany. Enduring Love. Klemens Gasser & Tanja Grunert, Inc., New York, NY. 2000 Let's Be Friends. Migros museum für gegenwartskunst, Zürich, Switzerland. Borderline Syndrome. Energies of Defence. Manifesta 3, European Biennial of Contemporary Art, Ljubljana, Slovenia. Sammlung 1. The Oldest Possible Memory. Sammlung Hauser und Wirth in der Lokremise St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland. 1999 Drawings. Sommer Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv, Israel. PEACE. Migros museum für gegenwartskunst, Zürich, Switzerland. Eidgenössische Preise für Freie Kunst. Kunsthalle Zürich, Switzerland. Pizzeria Sehnsucht (with Marko Lehanka). Ateliers du FRAC des Pays de la Loire, Saint-Nazaire, France. Collection. Migros museum für gegenwartskunst, Zürich, Switzerland. 999. Centro d'Arte Contemporanea Ticino, Bellinzona, Switzerland. Le repubbliche dell'arte. Palazzo delle Papesse, Sienna, Italy. Collection. Migros museum für gegenwartskunst, Zürich, Switzerland. Holding Court. Entwistle Gallery, London, England. 1998 Morning Glory. De Ateliers 1993–1997. De Ateliers, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. ironisch/ironic: maurizio cattelan, urs fischer, alicia framis, steve mcqueen, aernout mik/marjoleine boonstra. Migros museum für gegenwartskunst, Zürich, Switzerland. 1997 été 97. Centre d'édition contemporaine, Geneva, Switzerland. Guarene arte 97. Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin, Italy. Dokumentation. Hotel, Zürich, Switzerland. 1995 Calypso (with Antonietta Peeters and Avery Preesman). Stedelijk Museum Bureau, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Preisträgerinnen und Preisträger des Eidgenössischen Wettbewerbs für freie Kunst. Kunsthaus Glarus, Switzerland. Karaoke 444&222 too. South London Gallery, London, England. Assistent (with Maurus Gmür). Stiftung Binz39, Zürich, Switzerland. 1 Like Share