Yves Scherer

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Daylight has been created specially for the 30th edition of amfAR Gala Cannes. Rendering and photo show stages of progress of the work.

Yves Scherer
Photo Shoot + Portfolio

Daylight, 2024
White onyx
62.6 in. x 17.7 in. x 16.1 in. / 159 cm. x 45 cm. x 41 cm.

Yves Scherer (b. 1987, Switzerland) is a Swiss contemporary artist living and working in New York. He graduated from the Royal College of Art, London, in 2014 with an MA in Sculpture, after receiving a BA in Sciences of Culture from the University of Lucerne.

Formally blending the pose of Der Morgen, the famous sculpture that is part of the Barcelona Pavilion (Mies Van der Rohe’s modernist masterpiece), and a found model of a Baroque dancer, Daylight depicts a young woman in a summer dress shielding herself from the sun or a source of light while at the same time almost dancing or playfully interacting with it. The left hand is raised, not enough to protect but enough to engage. As Scherer’s work often deals with the idea of private and public spheres, it is interesting to look at the idea of the sun here also in the light of celebrity, exposure, or fame.

Experimenting with different mediums and forms, Scherer discusses themes ranging from gender identity, personal life experiences, and emotions to Hollywood culture, public media, and spectacle. The artist questions the boundaries of privacy while exploring the tensions between reality and virtuality, particularly during this digital age of instantaneity. Scherer uses behind-the-scenes stories to ender daily moments with a striking combination of intimate thoughts and familiar faces. His work reflects on a voyeuristic desire to peek into the seemingly impenetrable lives of celebrities, and surveys society’s fascination with entertainment personalities and breaks the mythicized barrier between the fan’s imagination and the celebrity.

Scherer’s work has been exhibited at international institutions and galleries. He is the recipient of a Förderpreis Bildende Kunst des Kanton Solothurn 2012 and the Swiss Art Award in 2015, and was named to Forbes 30 Under 30 “Art and Design” Class of 2016.

Courtesy of the artist (@yvesscherer) and The Journal Gallery


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