Bruno Jakob Born 1954 in Zurich, Switzerland

Lives and works in Zurich, Switzerland

Since the 1970s Bruno Jakob has investigated the invisible, the temporary and the mutable through the medium of painting. The specificity of his work lies in making use of atmospheric phenomena, natural processes and ephemeral “materials” such as energy, light, thought and brainwaves. The titles are assigned a narrative role, describing the painting process, with references to figures and techniques that describe the observed object.

In particular, his on-going series invisible paintings, challenges the true nature of appearance and announce the existence of images beyond the visible: water, brushed onto sheets of paper or other painting surfaces, leaves a trail prior to evaporating into the atmosphere. While Jakob’s works look like monochromes, they spring from a transfer of images or signs onto the surface. Painting thus becomes a performative act, even prior to being a process of transcription. Further, his painting performance are sometimes open to the public and accompanied by Hans Witschi at the piano.

Bruno Jakob's works have been exhibited internationally since 1988, particularly in his chosen hometown of New York. Works by the artist have been shown in countless solo and group exhibitions (including performative works - often performed with the Swiss artist and musician Hans Witschi), including Museum Tinguely, Basel, Switzerland (2022/2015), Helvetia Foyer, Basel, Switzerland (2020), Deutsches Haus, New York (2019), Kunsthaus Zofingen, Switzerland (2017), Kunsthaus Baselland, Muttenz, Switzerland (2016), Kunsthaus Glarus, Switzerland (2015), Kunstmuseum Luzern, Switzerland (2012), Haus Konstruktiv, Zurich, Switzerland (2011) and MoMA New York (2010). In 2014, Bruno Jakob was awarded the Ricola Collection Prize, Laufen, Switzerland. In 2011, Bruno Jakob was invited to show two installations at the 54th Venice Biennale in the Arsenale and in the main pavilion (curated by Bice Curiger). Works by the artist can be found in the collection of the Aargauer Kunsthaus, Switzerland, the Ricola Collection, Switzerland, the collection of the Kunsthaus Lichtenstein or the Art Collection of the Swiss Confederation, to name a few.