C’era una volta il West (2018)
electric hotplates, flute kettles (stainless steel), water, automatic timers 
120 x 75 x 40 cm (H x W x D)

Two flute kettles stand on two individual hot plates and are heated at regular intervals by automatic timers. When the water begins to boil, the kettles emit a characteristic whistling sound. this creates a kind of dialogue in which the sounds partially overlap and can be heard at different volumes. In addition, the hotplates also emit an acoustic signal. As soon as the maximum temperature is reached, they are automatically switched on and off with an audible “click”.
​
[...] C’era una volta il West is Nicolas Vionnet’s installation, which plays with the idea of the (im)possibility of communication, i.e. of establishing dialogues in unusual conditions. In an attempt to create a dialogue between cookers, the author wittily addresses the fact that even impossible communication conditions can sometimes result in a harmonious dialogue – even when the dialogue in question is established between mere kitchen implements. [...]
Leila Topic, senior curator at Zagreb Museum of Contemporary Art (MSU)

Video-Documentation: https://vimeo.com/264383114


C’era una volta il West

Do Not Call Me Painting Again! (2013)
patterned fabric on canvas, lacquer, paint splashes (wall and floor) 
210 x 100 x 30 cm (H x W x D)

The work Do Not Call Me Painting Again! imitates a painting, but in the proper sense it is a site-specific, installative work. A large-scale canvas is covered with an industrially manufactured fabric. The design shows a typical retro floral pattern on a light blue background. Paint splashes of the same characteristic blue colour can be found on the wall and on the floor. 

On the one hand the work deals with the topic of deception - only a closer second look will show that the pattern is not painted. On the other hand, it examines the boundaries between design and art, mass product and original.

Do Not Call Me Painting Again!

Full Of Hot Air (2018)
hot-water bottle (thermoplastic resin), bicycle valve (Sclaverand), cement 
18 x 20 x 32 cm (H x W x D)

“I have to say, that for my installations in public space I never know which medium and material eventually I will end up working with. The history and the conditions of a place inspire me and lead me. There was a time when I often was the only artist in a gallery group show showing in the outdoor space. I was often overlooked as a participant of the exhibition and people did not realize that somewhere out there one of the artists had created an additional work. I must admit that I was not really happy with this situation.
So I started to create a small corresponding object, which could be also shown in the gallery space. You can compare it with the idea of an edition. This is how I started to occupy myself intensively with objects and sculptures, which are now an important part of my work. In my objects I pursue a similar strategy as in my interventions: irritation and integration. I try to find everyday objects that are able to merge together in order to provoke and irritate.“

Interview 2016
Floorr Magazine, London

Full Of Hot Air

Always Stand On The Bright Side Of Life (2019)
steel walker, pipe extension, lamp shade, light bulbs 
250 x 80 x 55 cm (H x W x D)

Through the careful selection of materials, Nicolas Vionnet succeeds in merging two completely different objects in a humorous and believable way. Although irony is clearly in the foreground, at second glance the work addresses serious themes such as aging, loneliness and loss of control. 

Always Stand On The Bright Side Of Life

If I hadn‘t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn‘t have believed it (2018)
mincer, rubber cord
12 x 28 x 22 cm (H x W x D)

“I have to say, that for my installations in public space I never know which medium and material eventually I will end up working with. The history and the conditions of a place inspire me and lead me. There was a time when I often was the only artist in a gallery group show showing in the outdoor space. I was often overlooked as a participant of the exhibition and people did not realize that somewhere out there one of the artists had created an additional work. I must admit that I was not really happy with this situation.
So I started to create a small corresponding object, which could be also shown in the gallery space. You can compare it with the idea of an edition. This is how I started to occupy myself intensively with objects and sculptures, which are now an important part of my work. In my objects I pursue a similar strategy as in my interventions: irritation and integration. I try to find everyday objects that are able to merge together in order to provoke and irritate.“

Interview 2016
Floorr Magazine, London

If I hadn‘t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn‘t have believed it

Rock’n’Roll (2014)
walking stick with brass fitting, rubber wheel 
90 x 12 x 3 cm (H x W x D)

“I have to say, that for my installations in public space I never know which medium and material eventually I will end up working with. The history and the conditions of a place inspire me and lead me. There was a time when I often was the only artist in a gallery group show showing in the outdoor space. I was often overlooked as a participant of the exhibition and people did not realize that somewhere out there one of the artists had created an additional work. I must admit that I was not really happy with this situation.
So I started to create a small corresponding object, which could be also shown in the gallery space. You can compare it with the idea of an edition. This is how I started to occupy myself intensively with objects and sculptures, which are now an important part of my work. In my objects I pursue a similar strategy as in my interventions: irritation and integration. I try to find everyday objects that are able to merge together in order to provoke and irritate.“

Interview 2016
Floorr Magazine, London

Rock’n’Roll

Maria wärst du hart geblieben, wär Weihnachten uns erspart geblieben (2016)
PVC floor coating, iron and enamel hip bath, bathroom fittings, shower curtain, shower curtain bar, audio
dimensions variable
Kunsthalle Palazzo Liestal (CH). Exhibition: Regionale 17

For Regionale 17 at Kunsthalle Palazzo, Vionnet arranges the last space of the exhibition tour. Even from a distance, the visitor encounters peculiar water sounds: a splashing and bubbling, almost as if a shower head is dripping water. What at first seems unthinkable is confirmed when entering the space. At the very end of the long room is an old seat tub with a closed shower curtain. The curtain stands open only a crack, allowing a glimpse.
 
Vionnet employs a strategy often found in his work: Integration and irritation. A seemingly everyday action, showering, is linked to an inappropriate place, the museum space. What remains is astonishment. With a kind of stage set, the artist turns the visitors' perception upside down and entices them to dive into their own story.

Video-Documentation: https://vimeo.com/198188258

Maria wärst du hart geblieben, wär Weihnachten uns erspart geblieben

The Wailers (2015)
In collaboration with Wouter Sibum, Rotterdam (NL)
air nozzles, air compressor, air hoses, control panel, floating bodies, anchoring systems dimensions variable
Strandvejen, Aarhus (DK). Exhibition: 4th Aarhus Biennial “Sculpture by the Sea", Denmark

In June 2009 Sculpture by the Sea, Aarhus - Denmark was launched, in association with the City of Aarhus and ARoS Aarhus Artmuseum, under the patronage of The Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Denmark. Today it is the biggest and most unique outdoor sculpture exhibition in Denmark. Along Aarhus scenic coast line sculptures are presented on the beach, the waterfront and in the forest.

As an artist-duo Nicolas Vionnet & Wouter Sibum challenges their individual artistic areas, in order to jointly explore new ways and create works that play with our expectations of both form and content. With ‘The Wailers‘ they have, with a simple and invisible touch, in interaction with the surrounding nature, created a site-specific work, of water. Surprisingly, and seemingly at random, the work breaks the sea level. An imitation of a real whale fountain. The fluid sculpture form maintains the work’s existence in the mind of the viewer and surprises again and again.

“With ‘The Wailers‘ we decided to do a work related to two contexts: First, the sculpture exhibition itself. Second, the situation of whales continuously being killed in seas in Denmarks territory; Greenland. We aimed to handle both contexts with subtlety and decided to create ‘sculptures‘ that were only visible at scarse moments.“

Video-Documentation: https://vimeo.com/137587897

The Wailers

Aus Versehen (2013)
coin-operated telescope, tree
dimension variable
St. Peter Hofstatt, Zurich (CH). Exhibition: Shape the Scape. Landscape in contemporary art. An exploration. 
WIDMER+THEODORIDIS contemporary, Zurich

Already the location is surprising - coin operated telescopes normally can be found at places with magnificent view and help to bring the landscape from a distance very close to the lens. 

Nicolas Vionnet's installation, however, focuses on a remnant of landscape in the middle of the city - Watching, and being observed. Behind the lens, in a clearly defined axis one can find the great tower of the historical St. Peter's church, which was used to observe the city of Zurich from the Middle Ages to the early 20th century.

Aus Versehen

Island - Catch Me If You Can (2008)
wooden frame, styrofoam, fabric covering, turf rolls 5 x 800 x 800 cm (H x W x D) Weimarhallenpark, Weimar (DE). Exhibition: Wanderlust. Art for the public space in Weimar

Nicolas Vionnet is, in this project, concerned with the Weimarhallenpark (Weimar, GER) and is planning an intervention in the pool, situated in the center of the park. Fascinated by the arrangement and structure of the artificial park, the artist considered the historical background of this green space.

In order to accent the existing character of artificiality and symmetry as well as to return to the former condition of the park, Nicolas Vionnet decided to create a floating lawn in the center of the pond. The artificial square "island" is realized in the form of a float and is covered with an authentic organic lawn. This object is fixed to the pond bed, yet still has a minimal amount of movement. It is exactly this flexibility of the object as well as its proximity to the bank, that invites the impressed viewer to linger before a simultaneous illusion of accessibility.

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Nicolas Vionnet