Biography

Peter Fischli and David Weiss
(Peter Fischli born 1952, David Weiss born 1946)

Swiss artists Peter Fischli and David Weiss were born in Zürich in 1952 and 1946, respectively. Fischli graduated from the Academia di Belle Arti, Bologna in 1977 and Weiss from the Kunstgewerbeschule, Zürich, in 1964. Both artists established a collaborative partnership since the late 1970s. Their humorous and playful works, in a wide variety of mediums such as photography, sculpture, installation and video, challenge traditional notions of the art object and the artist itself. Throughout their oeuvre, everyday objects and experiences are removed from their traditional contexts and transformed into something new, and become involved in alternative narratives that emphasize the subjective nature of art and the art object. In their works, irony and contradiction are often present and things are not always what they seem. Fischli and Weiss are best known for the film The Way Things Go (1987), in which everyday household and art studio objects interact with each other in an implausible, humorous scenario.

Peter Fischli and David Weiss have exhibited extensively throughout the United States and Europe. Recent solo exhibitions of their work have been held in institutions such as the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa, Japan in 2010, the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia and Palacio de Cristal in Madrid in 2009 and Deichtorhallen in Hamburg in 2008. They have also participated in exhibitions in major institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art in Oslo and the Tate Modern in London. They have participated in multiple Venice Biennales, and their work has been featured in multiple publications. In 2006 Phaidon published the first monograph devoted exclusively to the work of both artists. Peter Fischli and David Weiss currently live and work in Zürich, Switzerland.

Peter Fischli
Education
Academia di Belle Arti, Urbino, 1975-76
Academia di Belle Arti, Bologna, 1976-77
Group Exhibition, Academia, Bologna, 1978
Begins collaboration with David Weiss, 1979

David Weiss
Education
Vorkurs, Kunstgewerbeschule, Zürich, 1963-64
Kunstgewerbeschule, Basel, (sculpture class), 1964-65
Sketches, Berne, (with Urs Lüthi, Text: J.-Chr.Ammann), Edition Toni Gerber, Berne, 1970
Drei Geschichten, Edition Stähli, Zürich, 1974
Up and Down Town, Edition Stähli, Zürich, 1975
The Desert is Across the Street, Galerie Stähli, Zürich/de Appel, Amsterdam, 1975
Galerie Stähli, Zürich, 1976
Galerie Gugu Ernesto, Cologne, 1979
Galerie Venster, Rotterdam, 1979
Begins collaboration with Peter Fischli, 1979

SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2003
Hunde(Dogs), Matthew Marks Gallery, New York
Delays and Revolutions, 50th Venice Biennale
Spruth, Magers & Lee, London
Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen Rotterdam, The Netherlands

2002
Matthew Marks Gallery, New York
Fragen Projektion, Museum Ludwig, Cologne (catalogue)

2001
Fischli & Weiss. Mundo visivel, Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Serralves, Porto, Portugal
Peter Fischli David Weiss: Airports, Monika Sprüth/Philomene Magers, Munich
Büsi (Kitty), Matthew Marks Gallery, New York
The 59th Minute: Video Art on the Times Square Astrovision, (organized by Creative Time), Times Square, New York

2000
Sichtbare Welt, Plötzlich diese Übersicht, Grosse Fragen-Kleine Fragen, Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Basel (catalogue)
El mon visible, Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona
Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris

1999
Matthew Marks Gallery, New York (catalogue)
Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris (catalogue)

1998
Galerie Monika Sprüth, Cologne
White Cube, London
Galerie Hauser & Wirth & Presenhuber, Zürich
Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston

1997
Center for Contemporary Images, Saint-Gervais, Geneva

1996
In a Restless World, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; Traveled to Wexner
Center for the Visual Arts, Ohio State University, Columbus; San Francisco
Museum of Modern Art; Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia; and Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg (catalogue)
Serpentine Gallery, London
Arbeiten im Dunkeln, Kunsthaus Zürich

1995
Venice Biennale, Swiss Pavillion, Venice (catalogue)
Galerie Monika Sprüth, Cologne

1994
Sonnabend Gallery, New York

1993
Kunsthalle Zürich
Le Case d’Arte, Milan
Musée d’Art et d’Histoire, Geneva

1992
Galerie Walcheturm, Zürich
Galleria Locus Solus, Genoa
Galerie Francesca Pia, Berne
Musée National d’Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (catalogue)

1991
Kunstverein der Rheinlande und Westfalen, Dusseldorf
Wiener Secession, Vienna
Galerie Achenbach, Frankfurt
Galleria Bonomo, Rome

1990
Galerie Ghislaine Hussenot, Paris
Instituto Valenciano de Arte Moderno (IVAM), Valencia
Kunstverein München, Munich
Galerie Marga Paz, Madrid

1989
University of South Florida, Tampa
Sonnabend Gallery, New York
Galerie Monika Sprüth, Cologne
Le Case d’Arte, Milan
Galerie Susan Wyss, Zürich
Galerie Akhnaton, Cairo

1988
Institute of Contemporary Arts, London
Third Eye Center, Glasgow, Scotland
Musée de Peinture et de Sculpture, Grenoble (catalogue)
Interim Art, London
Centre d’Art Contemporain, Geneva
Portikus, Frankfurt

1987
Galerie Monika Sprüth, Cologne
List Visual Arts Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
The Renaissance Society, University of Chicago
Institute for Art and Urban Resources, PS 1, Long Island City, New York
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
Dallas Museum of Art, Texas
Berkeley Art Museum, University of California, Berkeley
Le Case d’Art, Milan

1986
Sonnabend Gallery, New York
The Corridor, Reykajvik, Iceland

1985
Stiller Nachmittag, Galerie Monika Sprüth, Cologne
Kunsthalle Basel
Groninger Museum, Groningen, The Netherlands
Centre Culturel Suisse, Paris
Produzentengalerie, Hamburg
Kölnischer Kunstverein, Cologne

1984
Galerie Crousel-Hussenot, Paris

1983
Fieber, Galerie Monika Sprüth, Cologne

1982
St. Galerie, St. Gallen, Switzerland

1981
Plötzlich diese Übersicht, Galerie Stähli, Zürich

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2003
Defying Gravity: Contemporary Art and Flight, North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh (catalogue)
Stacked, D’Amelio Terras, New York
Unreal Estate Opportunities, pkm gallery, Seoul, Korea
Multiple!/Multiple!, Contemporary Collectors Gallery, Roslyn Harbor, New York
Extra: How Many Extra Layers Can We Graft on to Reality Before it Collapses?, Swiss Institute-Contemporary Art, New York
The Last Picture Show: Artists Using Photography 1960-1982, Walker Art Center, Minnesota
Sculpture: Darren Almond, Peter Fischli David Weiss, Katharina Fritsch, Robert Gober, Donald Judd, Ellsworth Kelly, Ugo Rondinone, Tony Smith, Matthew Marks Gallery, New York

2002
Living Room, Jablonka Gallery, Köln
Subreel, MAC, Galeries Contemporaines des Musées de Marseille
Wallflowers, Kunsthaus Zürich
Moving Pictures, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York
It’s a Wild Party and We’re Having a Great Time, Paul Morris Gallery, New York
From Pop to Now, Selections from the Sonnabend Collection, Tang Teaching
Museum and Art Gallery, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, New York
The House of Fiction, Sammlung Hauser & Wirth, St. Gallen, Switzerland

2001
Tenth Anniversary Exhibition, 100 Drawings and Photographs, Matthew Marks Gallery, New York (catalogue)
Analogue Dialogue, Kunstmuseum Solothurn, Switzerland
The Dark, Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Germany
Szenenwechsel XX, Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt am Main
Bildarchive, Kunst-Werke, Berlin
Collaborations with Parkett 1984 to Now, The Museum of Modern Art, New York
Ein gut plazierter Helm ist wie ein beruhigender Blick, Kunsthalle, Nurnberg, Germany
Ohne Zögern-Without Hesitation. Blicke in die Sammlung Olbricht, Neues Museum Weserburg, Bremen, Germany
Vom Eindruck zum Ausdruck Grässlin Collection, Deichtorhallen, Hamburg
The Vision Art Exhibitions, Malmo, Sweden
Makeshift, University of Brighton Gallery, Brighton (catalogue)
Restaging the Everyday: Recent Work by Beat Streuli and Fischli/Weiss, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Work: Shaker Design and Recent Art, Tang Teaching Museum, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, New York

2000
Minding, Le Garage, Geneva
Fest der Flüsse, Wienfluss U4 Stadtpark, Vienna
Europeans, Zwirner & Wirth, New York
Pero mira como, Centro de la Imagen, Mexico City; Traveled to El Museo de las Artes, Guadalajara, Mexico (catalogue)
Sammlung Goetz, Munich (catalogue)
Inventional, Angles Gallery, Santa Monica
As it is, Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, England
Eiszeit, Kunstmuseum Bern
La Prima Idea. Aktuelle Malerei auf Papier, Graphische Sammlung der ETH Zürich
Voilà – le monde dans la tête, Musée d’art Moderne de la Ville de Paris Staged, Bonakdar Jancou Gallery, New York
Fleurs, Museum zu Allerheiligen / Kunstverein Schaffhausen, Schaffhausen; Traveled to Museo d’Arte Contemporanea, Castello di Rivoli, Turin (catalogue) Unnatural Science, Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, North Adams (catalogue)
Tate Modern, London
Orbis Terrarum - Ways of Worldmaking. Kartographie und Zeitgenössische Kunst, Plantin-Moretus Museum, Antwerp (catalogue)
Un Chant d’Etoiles, Opéra National Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, Brussels
Some Parts of This World. Helsinki Photography Festival 2000, Finnish
Museum of Photography Cable Factory, Helsinki
Moment, Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee, Scotland
Staged. Constructions of Reality in Contemporary Photography, Bankadar
Jancou Gallery, New York
Das Haus in der Kunst, Deichtorhallen, Hamburg (catalogue)

1999
Trailer, Galerie Kampl im Kunstforum, Munich
Contemporary Swiss Art, Ludwig Museum of Contemporary Art, Budapest
Peter Fischli & David Weiss, Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris
Real Stories II, Friedrich Petzel Gallery/Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York
Looselipssinkships, Projections vidéos, Galerie Erna Hécey, Luxembourg
h:min:sec. Eine Ausstellung zur Zeit, Kunstraum Innsbruck
Un musée en appartement. Une exposition de toutes les gravures, multiples et photographies, publiés par Parkett, Centre d’Art Contemporain Genève
Maverick: Jean-Marc Bustamante, Peter Fischli & David Weiss, Katharina Fritsch, Roni Horn, Thomas Schütte, Andreas Slominski, Matthew Marks Gallery, New York

1998
Mai 98, Kunsthalle Koln Kunsthalle Zürich Sydney Biennal, Sydney Kunstausstellung Holderbank, Holderbank, Switzerland Freie Sicht aufs Mittelmeer, Kunsthaus Zürich
Freie Sicht aufs Mittelmeer, Museum of Modern Art, Gunma, Japan (catalogue)
Maverick: Jean-Marc Bustamante, Peter Fischli & David Weiss, Katharina Fritsch, Roni Horn, Thomas Schutte, Andreas Slominski, Matthew Marks Gallery, New York
Alpenblick. Die zeigenössische Kunst und das Alpine, Kunsthalle Vienna
I Shop Therefore I Am, Kunstverein Hamburg

1997
Skulpturen Projekte 97, Munster, Germany Documenta X, Kassel (catalogue)
Transit. Fotografia degli anni `90, Centro d’Arte Contemporanea Ticino, Bellinzona, Switzerland Airport, The Photographers’ Gallery, London
Von den Dingen. Gegenstände in der zeitgenössischen Kunst, Museum Allerheiligen, Kunstverein Schaffhausen, Schaffhausen, Switzerland

1996
Non! Pas comme ça!, Centre d’Art, Neuchâtel, Switzerland Now Here, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, Denmark
(Landschaft) mit dem Blick der 90er Jahre, Burgk/Saale Ehemaliges
Umspannwerk Singen, Fast nichts. Almost invisible, Museum Schloss Burgk, Singen/Hohentwiel

1995
Zeichen und Wunder, Kunsthaus, Zürich (catalogue) Mai de la Photo, Reims Micromegas, American Center, Paris

1994
Cloaca Maxima, Museum der Stadtentwässerung, Zürich

1993
Double Take, Hayward Gallery, London; Traveled to Kunsthalle Vienna; and Deste Foundation for Contemporary Art, Athens (catalogue) Post Human, Deichtorhallen, Hamburg (catalogue) Equilibre, Aargauer Kunsthaus, Aarau, Switzerland Passing Through, Galerie Walcheturm, Zürich

1992
Post Human, Asher Edelman Foundation (FAE), Museé d’art Contemporain, Pully/Lausanne; Traveled to Castello di Rivoli, Turin; Deste Foundation for Contemporary Art, Athens (catalogue) Platzverführung, KulturRegion, Stuttgart, Germany Expo 1992, Swiss Pavillion, Sevilla, Spain

Oh cet echo, Centre Culturel Suisse, Paris Sonderfall Schweiz, Schweizer Landesmuseum, Zürich Projekt Schweiz, Kunsthalle, Basel (catalogue)

1991
Galerie Walcheturm, Zürich Chamer Räume, Kunst an Ort, Cham, Germany (catalogue) Metropolis, Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin Schwerelos, Grosse Orangerie, Schloss Charlottenburg, Berlin

1990
Villa Arson, Nice Sydney Biennale, Sydney (catalogue)

1989
Sao Paulo Biennale, Brazil Rooseum, Malmo, Sweden Sonnabend Gallery, New York

1988
Venice Biennale, Aperto, Venice Carnegie International, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

1987
Skulptur Projekt in Münster 1987, Munster, Germany
Documenta 8, Kassel, Germany (catalogue)
Offenes Ende, Junge Schweizer Kunst, Nurnberg, Erlangen, Germany Comic Iconoclasm, Institute of Contemporary Arts, London The Sonnabend Collection, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid Stiller Nachmittag, Kunsthaus Zürich (catalogue)

1986
Auf dem Rücken des Tigers, Shedhalle, Zürich (catalogue) Swiss Pralines, Forum Stadtpark, Graz, Austria Sonsbeek 86, Park Sonsbeek, Arnheim, The Netherlands (catalogue) Swiss Selection, Galerie Beyeler, Basel

1985
Cross Currents in Swiss Art, Serpentine Gallery, London (catalogue)

Nouvelle Biennale de Paris, Grand Halle du Parc de la Villette, Paris

1984
Zwischen Plastik und Malerei, Kunstverein Hannover Haus am Waldsee, Berlin
An International Survey of Recent Painting and Sculpture, Museum of Modern Art, New York (catalogue)

1983
Aktuell 83, Lenbachhaus, Munich

1982
Neue Skulptur, Galerie Nächst St. Stephan, Vienna

1981
30 Künstler aus der Schweiz, Innsbruck/Vienna/Frankfurt

1980
Saus und Braus, Städtische Galerie zum Strauhof, Zürich

FILMS
1993
Kanalvideo

1987
Der Lauf der Dinge, 16 mm, 30 Minutes

198
Der rechte Weg, 16 mm, 30 Minutes

1981
Der geringste Widerstand, 16 mm, 30 Minutes

AWARDS
2000
Günther-Peill-Preis, Leopold-Hoesch-Museum, Düren